Centre of Affection
by Lightning-Tenshi-29
Summary: A new seat, a new student, a new best friend. Lila, Dean, Nathaneal or Adrien. Who will Marinette choose? Watch as Marinette becomes the reason those four individuals fight.
1. Player One

Centre of Affection

A/N; Hello there! This is my new mini-series that I have talked about in BOTBS. (Bringing Out The Bad Side) I would like to thank my friend and beta Loplover for helping me until I can find a proper beta. This story features my OC Dean, who is sort-of inspired by Onigumo from Inu Yasha. Enough of my yapping, welcome to the first chapter!

WARNING: Dean is a player, the tomato child gets a bit OOC, and later on, there will be a jealous kitty cat. This also does not focus on the 'miraculous' side of things, just the characters in school.

The students took to their seats as Madame Bustier cleared her throat. "Today, students, we are going to have a new student, and a change of seats." Many groans came from the class, they were all happy about where they were, and really didn't want to change. "Quiet. Now, let me introduce you to Dean, our new student." A boy with short black hair, with his bangs swept to the left came forward. He wore a black jacket, with a blue shirt with a red skull on underneath. He had denim trousers and blue converse. The boy opened his eyes, revealing bright red pupils to the class. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, dear?" The teacher asked, trying to make the experience less awkward for the boy. "I uh- moved here from New York, I speak English, Spanish and Japanese, and I'm allergic to pineapples?" He offered, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Okay, now for our new seats." Madame Bustier exclaimed, hands on her hips. She proceeded to read out the new seating plan.

"Alya and Adrien, over there." Marinette let out a sigh, and Alya patted her on the back. "Don't worry girl, I'll talk about you all the time." She said with a wink, and moved to sit by Adrien.

"Alix and Sabrina, right there." Alix grumbled and sat by Sabrina.

"Chloe and Ivan, Kim and Juleka, Rose and Nino, Nathaneal and Dean, and lastly, Marinette and Lila."

To say Marinette felt bad about treating Lila like that was an understatement. She really wanted to make things up to her as Marinette, to try to erase the pain she caused her as Ladybug. Since she had exposed Lila as a liar, the olive-eyed girl had been left with no one. And, no matter if she lied about knowing Ladybug to get close to Adrien, she did not deserve to be all alone. She took her seat at the back of the class, just behind Dean and Nathaneal. "You may not know the person next to you, so you have five minutes on the clock to get to know them." Madame Bustier announced, waving her hands around in a flowing manor. Marinette turned to Lila, who was facing away from her, in a desperate attempt to block out the world. "Hey, I'm Marinette." She said softly, and poked Lila when she did not respond. "What?" Lila snapped icily, arms folded over her chest. "What's the matter?" The brunette let out a long sigh. It couldn't hurt to tell one measly person about her feelings could it? Besides, they were going to have to sit next to each other for a while anyway. "I- I lied about a few things to make myself look good for a guy, and someone told the guy the truth, and I lost all my friends, because I'm just a liar. That's it, that's all I am." Lila let out a small gasp when Marinette put her hand on her arm. "Look, even if you lied, I'm sure it didn't mean any harm anyway. I'll be your friend, Lila." The girl in question's mind was spinning, someone actually wanted to be friends with her, even after all the grief she had caused everyone. A small smile adorned the brunette's face, and she brought Marinette into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you." She whispered, so just Marinette could hear. That was the start of a beautiful friendship. The one with the guys in front of them, however, wasn't going too well.

"So, Nath. Do you think the girl behind us is cute?" Dean asked, a smirk firmly planted on his face. "L-Lila or M-M-Marinette?" Nathaneal stuttered, his face going as red as Dean's eyes. "Marinette is really cute, and seems quite popular. That Lila girl though, I'm not a fan. To me, it seems like she's done something, and no one wants to be friends with her." Nathaneal nodded. "You're right Mari is c-cute, and yes. Lila lied to everyone, and no one trusts her anymore." Dean smiled knowingly. "I think if she ditched the pigtails, Marinette would be one of the hottest girls here. The pigtails, they just don't really work for her." The new student stated, clicking his wrists. "I- I think she's perfect just the way she is, b-but she would look nice w-without the pigtails." The tomato haired boy admitted, and started to continue drawing his comic. "You totally have a crush on her bro." Dean told him, running his hands through his hair. The artist's face went as red yet agiain, and Dean patted him on the back. "Well, good luck, because by the end of the week she will be my girlfriend." He whispered competitively. "Want to bet?" Nathaneal asked him, with a newfound anger and confidence.

"Time's up. Cease talking! Now, open your textbook and turn to page 178. Then, go through each of the exercises with the person next to you. Begin." Madame Bustier told them, examining her short stubby nails.

Alya threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "Adrien, you are impossible. The answer to question one is _clearly_ Promethium." The model shook his head, arms folded over his chest, like a three-year-old having a tantrum, but without the crying, screaming or foot-stomping. "No way. It's Plutonium." He argued.

Lila and Marinette leaned over the textbook. "This is so easy!" The pigtailed girl exclaimed, pointing to question one on page 178. "I know right. It's kind of a lame trick question, but only an idiot would think the answer was either Plutonium or Prometheium." Marinette nodded, and started to work out the answer to question two with her desk mate, who she had just found to be exceptionally good at science, and a great listener.

Dean threw the book of the table, towards the front row, hitting Alya in the head. She turned around and glared daggers at him, and boy did it make him scared. The new student started to looked everywhere but that desk, let alone the people working at it, and started to squirm in his seat. Nathaneal looked at him in confusion. "Why on earth did you just chuck the book to the other end of the room?" Dean smirked, and put his feet up on the desk in front of him. "We," he gestured to himself and then the redhead, "Are going to talk Marinette." Nathaneal shook his head, turned over a page in his sketchbook, and marked out some lines on it. "Okay then. Be all quiet." The new student said with a huff, he leant his face onto his palm, removing his feet from the desk, and putting them under it. "I always get what I want, okay? She is what I want now, so I will get her. Call me a player if you want, I don't care. I'm telling you now, I will have her, then I will leave her. Easy as that, all I'm doing is telling you ahead of time." Nathaneal's grip on his pencil tightened so much, it snapped in two. "You won't get her. I swear it. She is too good, too great, to be broken by dirt like you." The red-eyed boy straightened up, so his face was no longer being held up by his hand, and he let out a dark chuckle. "She doesn't know that, does she?" The artist visibly paled, and Dean laughed again.

"Nathaneal, Dean. Care to explain why your textbook is on the floor by Adrien and Alya's desk?" The teacher asked sternly, a sour expression etched on her face. "Ugh, that's not ours. I'd never let a textbook out of my sight, I am very big on my education. Did you know I have a very high IQ?" Dean offered, a pleading note in his voice. Madame Bustier sighed and shook her head. "Yes it is, I just watched you throw it at Alya. And Dean, you obviously don't, if you expected me to believe a lie like that." Chloe laughed obnoxiously, and Ivan covered his ears, he really couldn't stand that girl's laugh. "He's a bit of a liar, just like Lila. He fits right in!" She said loudly, with a flick of her hair. The teacher was about to scold Chloe for her rudeness, when she was beaten to it.

Lila felt hot tears build up in her eyes, and she lowered her head shamefully. 'Don't cry.' She told herself over and over in her head. Her head snapped upwards, when she heard a voice come rushing to defend her.

"So what, Chloe? Her lies are _nothing_ compared to the way you treat everybody. As far as I can tell, her lies never hurt anyone, but your meanness _has._ Lila is a good person, and you will _not_ try to tell me otherwise." Marinette declared loudly. Everyone just stared at her. Small, calm, shy Marinette just stood up to Chloe, one of the things no one had the guts to do before. Ivan clapped, and others joined in. He was clapping because she had put an end to Chloe's snobby laughter, he didn't think he could take it any longer, and he knew for a fact the others were clapping because they had found someone to stand up to the bully. Chloe huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "Daddy will hear about this." She whispered evilly.

Lila looked up at Marinette and whispered "Thank you." The bluenette just smiled, god knows Lila needed someone to stand up for her. "Any time."

Adrien just stared wide eyed at her. "Did she just..? She did, didn't she? What.." He muttered, a light frown on his face. The girl next to him chuckled and patted him on the back "You didn't think Mari had it in her, did you? Well, she does, she always has. I just don't know when she started being friends with Lila." Alya told him, smiling knowingly.

"That's enough Miss Dupain-Cheng. Continue with your work, class." Miss Bustier shouted, drawing the attention to herself. The science teacher picked up the book from by Alya and Adriens desk, strode over to Dean, and planted it right in front of him. "Work." She commanded, smiling when he started to nod vigorously. Madame Bustier walked back to the front of the room, and began to watch her students like a hawk would it's prey.

Lila wiped the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and began quietly discussing the answers with Marinette. Dean looked over his shoulder and sent the bluenette a smile, Lila noticed this and started to glare at him. Marinette rolled her eyes and focused her attention onto the question, ignoring the scene happening before her.

"Plutonium!" Adrien whined. "Promethium." His desk partner told him, with a wave of her hand. Alya turned around, about to look to her best friend for support, when she saw Marinette roll her eyes, and Lila and Dean glaring maliciously at each other. She poked Adrien in the shoulder "Look at that." He looked confused, but spun around to look at the people Alya was staring at. "What?" The auburn-haired girl's eyes never once left the three. "Lila and Dean are having a glare-off?: Over Mari?" She questioned herself, unsure about what was happening.

Nathaneal put his hand on Dean's shoulder, and narrowed his eyes. "At least pretend you're working, Madame Bustier is looking at us." He hissed, and went back to sketching. Dean nodded, and started to pretend to be engrossed in his work. "We will settle this later, tomato head."

A/N; So, what do you think? I'm not sure about there being a real pairing yet, but we'll see how it goes. Its going to be a sort-of rivalry between Dean, Nathaneal, Lila and Adrien. There wasn't any jealous Adrien in this chappie, but there will be soon. What did you think about Dean? I just needed one more character, so I made my own. Thanks to Loplover for inspiring me to go ahead with this fic.

-LT xxx


	2. Game on

Centre of affection

A/N; Loplover, I would love for you to beta on this aswell! And no, I don't have a wattpad account. Also, I would have uploaded earlier, but I was in the car for 8 hours, because of traffic. I am actually on holiday, so updates may be a little slow for this week. On with the chapter!

RING!

The bell signalled to the students the much anticipated break time had arrived. Alya punched the air. "Freedom from Adrien!" She muttered under her breath, smiling sheepishly when said boy sent a half-hearted glare at her. The class rushed out of the room, towards the library, since it had started raining heavily during the lesson. Madame Bustier frowned, hands on hips and yelled "The bell does _not_ dismiss you, I do!" in a not-completely-there effort to summon her students back to the room. Marinette and Lila were the last out of the class, wrapped in random conversation with each other.

Alya sat down at an oak table, next to Nino and opposite Adrien, one headphone in her ear, the other resting on the table. "Wow, Nino. Your mixtape is great!" She exclaimed, nodding her head to the beat of the generic music. The DJ scratched his head and smiled softly "Thanks." Adrien rolled his eyes and looked away from the people opposite him, they were two of his best friends, and he didn't see why they couldn't just get together, it was painfully obvious to everyone there was some mutual crushing going on there. Alya tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Where _is_ Marinette?" Nino shrugged and Adrien looked around. "Oh, over there." The blonde boy told them, pointing to a table mostly concealed by bookshelves. Though, it wasn't concealed enough, to prevent them from seeing the bluenette in a fit of giggles, Lila next to her, in the exact same state. Alya gritted her teeth, pulling the headphone out of her ear. "What's she doing with _Lila?_ " She hissed, eyeing the girl whose name she said so venomously suspiciously. "Beats me." Nino said, returning his attention to his phone.

Dean stalked over to Marinette's table, determined to get to her before Nathaneal. The red-eyed boy was practically standing directly behind his target, when Lila stood up, glaring. Dean took a step back, hands in the air. Marinette was still in peals of laughter, so she didn't notice the scene happening behind her. Lila walked around the giggling girl, towards Dean. The new student swallowed thickly, palms gathering sweat. Lila swung her fist at him, hitting Dean in the chest, knocking him backwards. Marinette didn't notice, but Adrien sure did.

Dean decided to wait until her guard-dog-like friend was out the way, and catch Marinette after school. Unfortunately for him, Adrien decided to do the same, since it was obvious to him Lila did _not_ like males anywhere near Marinette. Inside, Adrien was deeply confused as to why Lila was acting like that. Then again, after he found out she was lying, he didn't stick by her to find out the way she would normally act.

During the next class, English, Adrien saw Dean place his hand over Marinettes, and she blushed. He squirmed in his seat, that blush was reserved for _him._ 'What's wrong with me?' He asked himself. 'We're just friends, it's not like I love her or anything…' Yet the burning desire within him to cut off Deans hands told him otherwise. 'We're just friends, and I'm concerned. Yes, that's it…' But telling himself that over and over did nothing to extinguish that flame of hatred he had for the new student. Adrien had to resist the urge to go over there, and punch Dean into oblivion, and he let out a sigh when he saw Lila growl and backhand him across the face.

"Miss Rossi, Mr. Walker, is there a problem here?" Madame Bustier asked sternly . Dean twisted back around into his seat and shook his head. As soon as the teacher's suspicious eyes were diverted from him, he began to massage his cheek, wincing in pain. Lila was strong, and her hate for him simply proved to motivate her.

The reason Lila was doing this was to ensure she never lost her new friend. She had nothing before after she was exposed as a liar, and Marinette was the only person who still wanted anything to do with her. _Marinette._ That girl, even though she had not known her long, was genuine, and her best friend. Lila knew she would do whatever it took to defend and stay by her best friend. Dean was a threat, therefore he must be taken care of. It was logic, really.

Alya looked behind her for almost all of the lesson, and completely ignored Madame Bustier's teachings. Little did she know, Adrien was doing exactly the same thing. "What is happening?" She muttered under her breath. "I don't know. But I will find out." Adrien mumbled back. The auburn haired girl blinked. 'Is he jealous?' A cat-like smirk stretched out over her lips. 'So,' she thought 'He wants to know what's going on. Time to stir things up…' She put her hand on his shoulder, and Adrien whirled around in surprise. "I think Marinette and Dean make a cute couple, what about you?" Alya asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at him. The blonde boy frowned heavily, and his lips went into a slight pout. "No way. Dean does not deserve her. " Alya's eyes flickered with fire, and she turned towards the lesson. "Unlike me." He added under his breath, and gasped when he realised what he had subconsciously said. "I-er…" He stuttered, in a terrible attempt to fix what he had just let slip, but it was too late, Alya had heard him. "So, Adrien, you like her?" She questioned, eyes never once leaving the teacher. "Maybe…a bit…" He admitted, staring at the desk.

Throughout the class, Nathaneal kept passing sweet notes to Marinette, tactfully avoiding the gaze of the teacher when he did so. Small brightly coloured pieces of paper littered the desk, things like 'A guy could get lost in your eyes.' Or 'No one can compare to you.' Written on them. Unknowingly, Nathaneal had just made himself the second target on Lila's hit list. The poor boy had no clue what he was getting himself into.

Marinette's cheeks became slightly more heated with each note, and while Nathaneal had avoided the teacher's prying eyes, he most certainly had not avoided Dean's. The red-eyed boy glared daggers at him, blocking out the English lesson. He was definitely going to talk to Marinette after school, he had to make sure she favoured him more than Nathaneal. Dean looked at Lila suspiciously, turning away the instant she noticed his gaze. 'That girl,' He thought, hand on his chin. 'Will prove to be a problem. I have to have her approval, it would make life so much easier. But, she is determined to be an obstruction in the relationship. Not that it would last long anyway. Really, I just need to prove to tomato head I could get any girl I want. There must be some quick way to get to her heart, if only I knew what it was…' Nathaneal couldn't believe he was doing it. He was writing love notes to his long term crush. All it took was some conniving weasel (Dean.) to bring out his inner courage. Lila, although she glared at him, hadn't done anything physically harmful to Nathaneal. Yet.

RING!

There it went, again, this time heralding the end of the day. Madame Bustier sighed "Class Dismissed!" Marinette shoved the notes in her bag before the likes of Chloe could see them. Lila gave Marinette a note with her number on it. "It's my phone number." She explained, smiling when her desk mate brought her phone out, and typed the digits into it. "Thanks Lila. See you tomorrow?" The bluenette asked. "This has been the best day ever!" The olive-eyed girl exclaimed, pulling Marinette into a tight hug. "I have to go, but I'll phone you later on." Lila nodded vigorously, and with a wave, was walking home.

Alya cornered Marinette as soon as she was about to leave. "Girl, what is happening?" The blue-eyed girl sighed, and shook her head. "Lila, is one of my best friends. We spent so long together, and I enjoy her company. Dean, not a clue. He acts like he loves me, but that's not true, right? And Nath spent the entire lesson passing me love-notes." Alya broke down in laughter. "Looks like someone has many admirers!" Marinette groaned, and face palmed. "Why me? I'm not pretty. It should be you!" She whined. "Well, there's one more you didn't mention…" She told her slyly. "I have enough problems right now. Trying to stop Lila from killing any boys that get near me, is the main one." The auburn-haired girl snorted. "Bye, Mari." The blunette pouted, and made puppy-dog eyes at Alya. "Don't leave me!" The ladyblogger rolled her eyes. "Goodbye." And with that, Alya walked off, in the direction of her house.

"Why me?" She moaned under her breath.

The chauffeur looked disapprovingly at Adrien. "Your father will be displeased if you do this." He told the blonde boy with a waggle of his finger. "Please. This is important to me…" The green-eyed model begged, getting down on his knees before the driver. "Fine. You have fifteen minutes. Go." Adrien smiled, and ran off towards Marinette.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"A-Adrien I-uh.." She stuttered, trying to find the words. When she saw Dean walk over to them she thought she was saved, but, that's not how it actually went.

"Hey. I'm Dean, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet." The new boy said, pushing Adrien out the way, and taking Marinette's hands in his own. "I'm Marinette." She told him, a light pink hue dusting her cheeks. Adrien growled. "Dean. I was talking to her." He barked, in an annoyed tone. The red-eyed boy looked over his shoulder, to Adrien and whispered menacingly. "Well, you're not talking to her now, are you?" Dean smiled brightly at the girl in front of him. "Well, I'm new here, and I couldn't help but to notice how beautiful you are." He said in the most honest tone he could muster. "Thanks." She giggled. "I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded, and glared at Adrien one last time. Marinette started to walk home, replaying the events of the day in her head.

"Listen here, pretty boy. She will be mine, and I will be the one to break her heart. There is nothing you, tomato head or her aggressive desk mate can do about it. I am on a direct path to her heart." Dean told Adrien in a low tone. "Just watch me." The blonde countered smoothly, brushing off his clothes. They glared at each other, and walked in opposite directions.

Marinette sat down on her chaise and looked dreamily at the photo's of a certain model plastered all over her wall. "If only I could string a sentence around him…" She whispered to herself, ignoring Tikki's cries of "I need a cookie!" She averted her gaze from the 'Great Wall of Adrien' to her phone. "I should call Lila…" The bluenette picked up her phone absentmindedly and pressed the 'CALL' button on her contact.

-PHONE CALL-

"Hey, it's Lila here."

"Hey, it's Marinette."

"MARI!" She squealed excitedly.

"Want to go to the park later? I need to help my parents at the bakery first."

"Sure. I didn't know your parents were bakers!"

"They are. Does five sound an okay time to you?"

"Yeah. I really hope Dean isn't there."

"Why? He seems like a nice guy."

"I can just tell he's up to no good. Instinct I guess."

"Hm. Okay then, see you at five."

"Bye Mari!"

-End of Call-

Marinette couldn't help but wonder what Lila meant when she said he was up to no good. Then again, something about him seemed off. If only she could put her finger on it…

A/N; What did you think? Please review. Also, I don't really like Dean, but I felt it was necessary to invent him. I think Lila's last name is Rossi, but I'm not entirely sure. Thank you for all your reviews guys. YOU are what makes me want to write!

LT xxxx


	3. Level One

Centre of Affection

A/N; Thank you for all the support! I would respond to reviews, but I'd probably forget what I was going to say, and embarrass myself. I'm not a social butterfly . Enough of me, onto the chapter!

Lila's eyes scanned the park, looking for signs her desk mate would arrive. In the centre of the park, she could see Adrien modelling for a photo shoot. She clenched her fists and glared at him from a distance, the brunette hated him now. The Adrien Agreste was _obviously_ too good to remain on speaking terms with her, he ignored her every time she tried to strike up conversation or apologise, and she despised him for that reason. Thinking he was above others, a trait she previously had, but Lila had definitely learnt her lesson. She would fight to keep everything she had left after her reputation was completely obliterated by Ladybug. Lila knew deep inside that the hero had done her a favour, it taught her to appreciate everything she had, big or small, and she wanted Adrien to learn too. She wanted to watch him suffer as he was given a lesson, she wanted him to go through what she had been through. To loose all he held dear, and all he didn't, but should have.

Marinette ran to the park, frowning when she realised she was five minutes late for her meeting with Lila. She slapped her forehead, and narrowed her eyes in search of Lila. She gasped when her eyes zeroed in on Adrien, posing for the camera before the fountain, a smile that made her melt on the spot, on his face. Glaring daggers at him from across the park was the brunette she was looking for. It seemed Lila had not noticed her, so Marinette tiptoed across the park, out of both Lila and Adriens lines of sight, intent on sneaking up behind her. The bluenette was directly behind Lila, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders quickly. The olive-eyed girl tensed up, and prepared to punch the offending appendages out of existence when she realised who they belonged to. "MARI!" She excalaimed, and pulled the startled girl into a hug. "Sorry I'm late." The girl having her organs brutally crushed by a hug murmured, attempting to return the embrace. They pulled apart and Lila frowned. "What?" The bluenette asked, a quizzical look on her face. "You have the pigtails in. I think you'd look nicer without them." Lila reached out and slowly and gently slid the ribbons out of her best friends hair, smiling when blue locks cascaded down to her collar bone, framing her face. "Hey!" Marinette yelled, slightly annoyed when Lila threw the two red ribbons away, into a nearby bush.

"Perfect!" The photographer exclaimed, grinning proudly at the brilliant pose he had Adrien in. His model was gazing off into the distance, the fountain blurred out in the background. It would be a great photo, one of his finest. The photographer picked up his camera, and took a photo, however what he was looking at was not what he was going for.

Adrien looked away from the camera, like the photographer told him to. He saw various old couples feeding pigeons, and Lila. That girl, was looking rather fondly at someone with blue hair, wait. _Marinette?_ She had her hair down? She looked stunning like that, and Adrien could feel his eyes bulge and his mouth open.

"What is this, Adrien? You're supposed to be a model, not a fish!" The photographer yelled, looking disgustedly at the photo on his camera. Adrien had his mouth wide open, his eyes were out of their sockets, his eyebrows raised, shoulders slumped. Overall, it looked incredibly unflattering, and in all honesty, kind of like a goldfish. The boy snapped out of his trance, and gazed sheepishly at the photographer. "Sorry." The photographer sighed. "Take five."

Adrien walked over to Lila and Marinette, a soft smile on his face. "Hey." The brunette stood in front of Marinette, in a defensive position. "Watch your back, _Agreste._ " The way Lila spat his last name out, with such a strong hatred, scared Adrien. The model took a step back, a slight frown on his face. "Lila!" The girl behind her exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "What? He is a boy. Boys are evil. A boy could take you from me." The blue-eyed girl just giggled, and put a hand on the defensive females' shoulder. "You're one of my best friends, ever. No guy could come in between us." She told her, with a smile. Lila relaxed, instead content to glare at him. He took a step forward, tensing when the aggressive female whispered threateningly "I am warning you now. If you try anything like that Dean boy, or tomato head, then all you will know is a world of pain." Adrien couldn't help but wonder what she meant when she said, tomato head, presumably Nathaneal had tried something. He didn't know what exactly the usually shy boy had done, but it gave him that strange feeling that made him want to kill, or seriously maim him. "H-Hey Adrien ." The bluenette stuttered, running her fingers through her hair. "W-What're you doing?" The model asked, inwardly cursing himself for stuttering. Lila dropped her glare momentarily, instead looking at the boy like he was insane. 'Did he just stutter?' The brunette had already deduced that her desk mate had a slight crush on Adrien, and was not happy about it. She was not happy with her best friend liking anybody, let alone someone as shallow as him. "We're just hanging out in the park. Don't you have a photo shoot or something to get to?" Lila answered for her, a sharp edge to her voice. "In a few minutes." He answered through gritted teeth. The brunette took a step towards him, clicking her wrists. "Stop it!" Marinette exclaimed, hands in the air. Both of the green eyed individuals looked towards her, and she sighed. "You two," She gestured to them, a stern look on her face "Are acting like a pair of three year olds. What is wrong with you?" They looked at each other, then the ground. "Sorry Marinette." The blonde and brunette murmured at the same time, heads hung shamefully. "Good." She whispered to herself, gazing at the sunset. While her attention was away from them, Lila and Adrien returned to glaring at each other. "You won't get her." Lila told him in a low tone. "She isn't an item. No one gets her. However, I will be _with_ her, forever." The blonde countered. "Not if I have anything to say about it. And I do." Adrien growled, and Lila raised her fist, prepared to strike him across the face. The bluenette whirled around, narrowing her eyes when she saw what was happening behind her. "Enough." She said uncertainly, hoping that word would stop Lila and Adrien from fighting. "Why can't you guys just get along?" The brunette walked over to Marinette, and hugged her. "Mari. This guy wanted to take you away from me." She said softly, tears gathering in her eyes. All Lila wanted was to keep her friend, and these boys wanted her best friend for themselves. When the teacher told her they were moving seats, she was scared. Her and Marinette, they were fast friends, and she would defend that friendship with all she had. "Hush, Lila. I told you, a guy wouldn't change the fact you're my best friend. Please don't cry." The blue-eyed girl whispered, consoling her desk mate.

Adrien looked guilty, he had made Lila cry. It wouldn't be fair to Lila if he took her only friend away from her, but he couldn't help but to be jealous, of the way she could hug, and be with Marinette. Granted, it was purely platonic between her and Lila, but Adrien wanted to be the one with his arms around her. He had no clue when his feelings for sweet, shy Marinette, started to form, but he knew they were strong. So very strong, and there was nothing he could do about it now. Those feelings only seemed to really, truly appear when some guy was making an advance on her. They were embedded so deep into his subconscious, he didn't even have a clue they existed. He started to ponder her behaviour, reading into the way she acted around him. Why couldn't she speak to him? That always bugged him, was she intimidated? Adrien decided to make more of an effort to get to know her, on a personal level.

"A-Adrien, I t-think that g-guy over t-there is calling y-you." Marinette told him, stuttering. He nodded, and looked around. Surely enough, the photographer had a mega-phone and was shouting his name across the park. "Thanks. I er- have to go now, see you tomorrow?" The bluenette nodded, a blush on her cheeks. Lila released her hold on Marinette, sensing the danger had passed. (*cough* Adrien *cough*) "Well, Mari, I think it's getting late. We should both head home." The brunette whispered, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, we probably should." And with that, they walked off, in opposite directions, occasionally glancing back at each other, and waving.

When Marinette reached her home, she looked weirdly at the photos of Adrien on her bedroom wall. It just, didn't seem to suit the room, and, if Lila came over, she did _not_ want her to go crazy. The part-time hero didn't think she could afford to pay Lila's bail money, if she got jailed for attempted murder, or worse, actual murder. Her phone, on her desk, started buzzing very loudly. Marinette looked at it, and was not surprised to find a series of text messages from Alya.

 **A: Hello?**

 **A: MARI!**

 **A: What's with u and Lila?**

 **A: Hello?  
**

**M: Hey Alya**

 **A: Girl, where have u been?  
M: I was at the park with Lila**

 **A: What's up with that?  
M: I felt bad for her, and we have to sit by each other for the rest of the year.**

 **A: So…. U r best friends with her now?**

 **M: Kinda, but you will always be one of my besties**

 **A: Girl, tell me something I don't know**

 **M: …**

 **A: I saw that Dean kid kiss ur hand**

 **M: .-.**

 **A: Someone has an admirer…**

 **M: Nath kept passing me love notes**

 **A: Three ppl have crushes on u! Lucky…**

 **M: Three?  
A: Hehe. Go to go bye**

 **M: What do you mean three?**

Marinette looked suspiciously at her screen. There was something Alya wasn't telling her, and she _hated_ it when Alya didn't tell her things. They were best friends, and they shouldn't keep secrets. Which was total hypocrisy, because she had been keeping what was possibly the worlds _biggest_ secret from the rest of humanity. She put her phone down and sighed. Again, Marinette found herself staring at the wall-sized collage of Adrien. It didn't look _right_. It looked like it didn't belong, and she found herself wanting her room to focus more on _herself_ than her crush. So, she took the posters down one by one, pouting ever so slightly at the now empty wall. Instead of a certain model, she decided to plaster pictures of her own designs on her walls. Though she took down her wall of Adrien, that did most certainly not mean she was done with her crush on him. She picked up a few photos of her and Alya, sliding them in between the pictures of her designs. It still didn't suit her liking though. Marinette tapped her chin thoughtfully and beamed when the answer came to her. The selfies' she had taken with Lila at the park, while Adrien was modelling would do perfectly. The wall was nearly there. And, since she couldn't think what else to do, she put up one of the pictures of Adrien. Her favourite one, the photo where he was smiling at the camera, green eyes shining in awe. It was complete, a masterpiece.

A/N; What did you think? Please review! Sorry this is a bit late.

NOTE TO BETA: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS  
I'm so glad you're back. I was worried you'd disappeared off the face of the earth! I tried this time, I'm not great at spelling. I was thinking of pairing up Lila and Dean, or Lila and Nathaneal in the future. Which do you think?

LT OUT!


	4. Begin the Battle

Bringing Out The Bad Side

A/N: I had to redo this chapter, as I wasn't happy with it. On with the story! I'm trying to space things out more, to make it easier to read. Let me know if you like or dislike the new format, thanks!

-The next morning-

Marinette awoke with a start, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Spiralling into the abyss, a dark ravine, was all she remembered. Except for the fear, she remembered that too, she remembered it very well. Thank goodness it was all a dream, a bad dream.

Tikki stirred, sensing distress in her chosen's aura.

The bluenette slid out of bed, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked fine, apart from the startled expression set on her face, and the sweat shining off her forehead in the sunlight that streamed through her window.

 _Sunlight._ Meaning daytime, meaning school.

She spun around, looking frantically at her alarm clock. 7:15. Forty-five minutes until she had to go. Marinette let out a relived sigh.

Tikki's eyes fluttered open, watching in confusion as her charge's face changed expression multiple times, looking around the room wildly. "What's wrong Marinette?" The kwami asked sweetly, floating into the air.

"Oh, nothing, Tikki."

The girl threw on her usual outfit, deciding to leave her hair down, since Lila seemed to like it that way. "What is it about me having my hair down she seems to like?" She questioned herself under her breath.

She drew designs up until 7:30, when her phone started ringing. 'Lila is calling' Her screen read. Clicking the accept button, she spoke into the phone.

"Hey." The bluenette sat on her chaise, swinging her legs backwards and forwards.

"Hey Mari." The voice on the end of the line purred happily.

"What's up Lila?"

"I was um- wondering if you'd like to walk to school with me? I mean it's okay if-" She was cut off by her desk mates reply.

"I would love to! You live just north of the Louvre, right?"

"Yes, we could meet there and walk the rest of the way to school together?"

"Sure, I'll be there in five."

"Bye, Mari."

"Bye, Lila!"

The bluenette hung up, and looked out of the window. 'I wonder what Adrien is doing..' She thought, her mind drifting into an Adrien-filled daydream.

Tikki flew in front of her, and tapped her forcefully on the head. "Stop it, Marinette. You'll be late for meeting Lila!"

"Eep. Lila! That's right…" Marinette exclaimed, snapping back to reality, Adrien fantasies aside. The blue-eyed girl sped downstairs, barely noting the presence of her parents and grabbed two croissants from the counter.

"Bye!" She yelled from outside the shop, the door closing with a clang behind her.

At the speed she was running, you could barely see her, just a blue, grey and pink blur dashing through the streets of Paris. She reached the Louvre in record time.

Marinette let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, and leant against one of the cold marble pillars at the entrance to the world-famous building.

"MARI!" A voice from down the road called.

The girl barely even had time to blink, before she found herself in another one of Lila's hugs. "Hey Lila." She wheezed out, trying to speak, and take in air.

The brunette released her from the embrace, and squealed in delight. "You took out the pigtails!" Marinette scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah, since you seemed to like it like this so much."

Lila draped her hand over her desk mate's shoulders. "Lets go!"

"Oh, I brought you a croissant, Lila." The olive-eyed girl took the pastry from Marinette's outstretched hand, and smiled at her appreciatively.

"Thanks," The light wind jostled her hair slightly, sidetails swaying in the wind. "No one's ever done anything like this for me before." She added softly.

"Anytime."

The two girls walked closely, Lila's arm resting firmly on Marinette's shoulders. They reached the school faster than either one of them had expected, but then again, time flies when you're having fun.

At school, most people had already arrived, and Alya, phone in hand rushed towards the blue-eyed girl she used to sit by. "Oh girl, your hair looks fabulous like that!" The ladyblogger exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

Lila hissed, and glared menacingly at the stranger talking so familiarly with Marinette. "Stay away from her." The olive-eyed girl told Alya.

With wide eyes, the usually fierce blogger took a step backwards, fear seeping into her eyes. "I-I have to go now."

Marinette hadn't heard Lila's words before, and raised an eyebrow. Why was leaving her so suddenly? What was up with that?  
She was pulled from her thoughts by the screeching noise of a limo pulling up to the school. Marinette twisted her body around, careful not to trip and fall on the steps at the front of the school.

The door was thrown open, and a haughty-looking Chloe stepped out of it. The mayors daughter made her way to Marinette and Lila.

"Latching onto Dupain-Cheng are we? Well, birds of a feather flock together, I guess that goes for stupid and ugly birds too." The blonde sneered, flicking her hair. Sabrina rushed over to her, and gushed out praises to her.

"Wow, Chloe, you sure showed them. I see what you did there, you're so smart!"

Chloe's icy blue eyes softened as she looked at her ginger sidekick. "Yeah, yeah. I know, I'm amazing." Chloe sauntered away, walking up the steps, and glaring viciously at anyone in her way.

Lila looked at the floor, downcast. Maybe, maybe Chloe was right? Was she just latching onto Mari? Feeding off her like a leech? Tears bubbled up in her eyes, and she wanted to scream, to make it all go away.

"Lila," Marinette whispered softly, capturing the brunettes attention with a single word. "It's not true, okay? You're my friend, and you mean a lot to me. You're not latching onto me. You're my friend, and friends stick together, no matter what Chloe says." She reassured her, smiling when Lila wrapped her in a hug.

Hawkmoth tightened his grip on his cane. That would have been the perfect chance to bring back Volpina, but that _girl_ had ruined it. Before he even got a chance to have a butterfly land in his palm, let alone make it an akuma, that wretched student had soothed her, erased the pain, and erased the chance for him to darken Lila's heart once again. His luck was running out, there were very few people that were susceptible to his powers anymore.

Everyone was just too damn _happy._ And he hated it.

 **RING! RING! RING!**

The bell cut through the air like a knife. Students rushed inside, emptying the yard of the people that were in it just moments earlier.

"Class! May I have your attention?"

The pupils of Madame Bustiers class settled down, silence filling the room. "Good. Today, we will be doing traditional fairy-tales." Some of the boys in the class groaned, but they quickly shut up, after receiving a stern look from the teacher.

"You get to choose groups of about five, and I trust you to make sensible decisions. You will pick a fairy-tale, and at the end of the week, present a group presentation on that fairy-tale. Am I clear?"

A chorus of "Yes, Madame Bustier." Ran through the classroom, before chaos erupted.

Dean leant back on the seat, and swerved his head around. "So, ladies, want to work with us?" He asked, red eyes gleaming.

"Sure!" Marinette responded, before Lila could say anything.

"Great, we can be a four." Dean exclaimed, looking smugly at the red-head sitting next to him.

Adrien walked over to them, and put his hands on the desk. "Mind if I join?"

"O-Of course not A-Adrien."

Dean shut his mouth, he was about to respond angrily, and tell the model to buzz off. But, he thought better of it, he wouldn't want a certain girl to get a bad impression of him. Well, eventually she was going to have a bad impression of him anyway, after he breaks her heart. But, in order to break her heart, he had to get her to have an initial good impression of him.

Lila glared at the boys surrounding herself, and Marinette. 'I'll have to be extra vigilant.' She thought, looking suspiciously at Adrien.

In the end, the groups were as follows:

Group One: Marinette, Dean, Lila, Adrien and Nathaneal.

Group Two: Ivan, Mylene, Juleka , Chloe and Sabrina.

Group Three: Alya, Nino, Alix, Kim and Rose.

"This is terrible!" Chloe wailed, ignoring the eyes being rolled at her. "How will I survive without my Adrikins? This is total injustice. I cannot bear to be apart from him."

Adrien lowered him head shamefully. "Why me?" He asked himself under his breath. Thankfully, the teacher saved him from further embarrassment.

"Miss Bourgeouis, please get on with the project. I don't care if you're the mayors daughter, get on with your work." Chloe 'hmph'ed and sat down, ignoring the glares from the rest of her group.

Marinette broke the silence of the group, and clasped her hands together. "So, what fairy-tale should we do?"

"It's up to you." Dean purred, flashing a smile at the bluenette. Adrien gritted his teeth, and glared at him. He was not alone in wanting to rip Dean apart though, Lila and Nathaneal were obviously trying to stop themselves from punching the red-eyed student.

"Er- how about Cinderella? Or sleeping beauty?"

"Sleeping beauty sounds good." Nathaneal remarked boldly, hiding behind his mass of red hair.

"Yeah, we could put on like a mini-play of it." Adrien suggested.

"G-Good idea A-Adrien."

Lila just glared unhappily. A sleeping beauty play meant a kiss, and knowing these boys, they would volunteer Mari to be sleeping beauty. But, if the play made her best friend happy, then, she would participate.

"Who'll be playing who?" Lila asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes even further.

"Lila, you can be sleeping beauty, Nathaneal, you can be the prince." Marinette told them with a wave of her hand. "Then, Dean, you can be maleficent, I'll be a fairy, and Adrien can be the king?" The bluenette suggested.

Dean waved it off. "Nope. Lila can be the fairy, I'll be the prince, you'll be sleeping beauty, Nathaneal will be the king, and Adrien will be maleficent."

"No way. I'll be the prince, Marinette will be sleeping beauty, Nathaneal will be the fairy, Lila will be maleficent, and you'll be the king." Adrien argued, looking sourly at Dean.

Nathaneal growled, and slammed his hands down on the table, turning his groups attention to him.

"I'm going to be the prince, Marinette will be sleeping beauty, Lila will be the king, Dean will be Maleficent, and Adrien will be the fairy." He told them with confidence.

Then it hit Marinette. 'Oh my gosh, I forgot there was a kiss scene in sleeping beauty! How dense am I?' She thought frantically.

Lila growled. "None of you should be the prince, all you want is to kiss Mari!"

The boys all turned red, apart from Dean, who just shrugged. "So?"

"Mari will not be sleeping beauty!" Lila exclaimed.

"Why not? It's not like the kiss means anything." The red-eyed boy countered, though what he said was a lie. It would mean something, and he didn't want to miss out on a chance to enchant his target.

His plan was, to love her and leave her, to humiliate her. What he didn't expect though, was competition.

"No way. She will not be sleeping beauty." Lila told him sternly.

"Come on, what harm could it do?" Adrien asked hopefully, green eyes shining in the light.

"Fine, _Agreste._ You can be the prince, but only because I trust you more than those two."

Marinette felt her face go on fire, she was going to kiss Adrien! Thank goodness for her fringe that covered her face, without it, she looked redder than Dean's eyes or Nathaneals hair. Adrien smiled brightly and whispered "You won't regret it."

A/N; Well. That turned out differently than I expected. PLEASE REVIEW!

Some notes:

Please tell me what you think of the new format. PLEASE. Is it easier to read?

I could go back and make all the other chapters this way too, but, you all know I'm way too lazy for that.

Also, Lila x Nath is winning, but please let me know if you think it should be Lila x Dean instead.

NOTE FOR BETA:

What did ya think? I had to do this chapter again, which is why it's so late. If Lila x Nath wins, then I'm going to have Chloe x Dean as a thing. (Don't kill me, please!) Just think about it…

Also, I'm back from holiday! So more chapters quicker, now!

LT xxx


	5. Adrien, use throttle!

Centre Of Affection:

A/N; Yes, there will be more Alya in this chapter, and more Chloe! I too feel like Alya was very subdued, but I have quite a lot of characters to write about here, so I neglect the one's that aren't too important. ONWARDS!

Alya huffed as she watched the four boys around Marinette flirt shamelessly with her, each trying to outdo the other. The ladyblogger folded her hands over her chest, ignoring her group.

Nino looked at her confusedly, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Alya, what's the matter? You've been like totally out of it."

"Lila, she's taking my place, and those boys!" The auburn-haired girl explained, glaring at the group.

"She's like finally with Adrien and stuff. You ship those two or whatever, so why don't you just put aside your pride and let them be happy? Lila finally has a friend, she'd probably go through a lot to preserve their friendship." Nino stated with a sigh.

"But it's not fair, I should be with Adrien." He mumbled under his breath.

"Maybe, maybe you're right. But we've been friends _forever,_ I don't want Lila to ruin that!" She told him, looking down at her black and white sneakers.

"It's not the end of the world. You'll still see her." Nino knew he should be taking his own advice, but he couldn't keep his eyes off the first group. It made his blood boil that he was being neglected, so Adrien could try and get the girl.

At least he had Alya to relate to, they were in the same boat.

Kim cleared his throat, gathering the attention of his group. "Can we get started on the project now?" He asked sheepishly, smiling at Alix.

"Sure!" She responded happily, smiling back at him.

"We are so doing Cinderella!" Rose told them, clasping her hands together and batting her eyelashes.

"Me and Nino can research the origins of the play, Alix and Kim you two can make a poster, and Rose, you get to dress up as Cinderella!" Alya told them, pointing at each person respectively when she said their names. Rose squealed and twirled around.

"I get to be Cinderella!" The blue-eyed girl exclaimed loudly, capturing the attention of a certain Bourgeouis.

"As if. You're nowhere near pretty enough." Chloe snorted, flicking her hair around.

"Yes she is." Juleka growled from behind Chloe.

"Settle down class!" Madame Bustier yelled, glaring at Chloe.

To say Chloe Bourgeouis barely participated in the making of the presentation for her group would not be accurate. To say Chloe Bourgeouis did not participate at all, would be. She told them they would be doing 'Rapunzel' and left her team to work. But, unfortunately for her, they had other plans than to make her the star of the show. What she didn't know couldn't hurt her right? Right?

Chloe admired herself in the mirror, occasionally looking at Sabrina and telling her to stop staring and do something. For her, it was such a shame she and her Adrikins weren't in the same group. He, well, he was overjoyed. Her icy blue eyes wandered to her childhood friends' group.

What were all those relatively cute boys doing flirting with a piece of garbage like Marinette? In her opinion, Adrien was perfect, way too good for her. Daren, or Dean, whatever his name was, was obviously too good too. He, though he was no Adrien, was still smouldering. That artist boy that erased her designer possessions while he was akumatised, he should probably pay her no mind either.

WHY THE HECK WERE ALL THOSE BOYS FLIRTING WITH MARINETTE?

Lila was there too, but she honestly couldn't find it within herself to care. Chloe slammed her mirror down on the table and walked angrily over to Marinette.

"Well, being so ugly is one way to get boys to look at you, Mari-Trash." Chloe sneered, examining her nails.

Lila growled. "Don't _ever_ talk to her like that." She barked, glaring maliciously at the offending blonde girl. Dean put his hand on Chloe's shoulder and glared at her.

"Adrikins, they're being _so_ mean to me. Make them stop!" She wailed, latching onto Adrien's forearm. He looked down at her in disgust, wasting no time shaking her off.

"Stop it Chloe." He commanded, flexing his arms.

The blue-eyed girl batted her eyelashes innocently, and pouted slightly. "Stop what Adrien?"

Nathaneal, who had remained silent for most of the exchange, stood up, pencil tucked behind his ear. "Never insult her in front of me."

With those four people glaring at her in defence of a peasant like Marinette, Chloe had never felt more scared. Two strong looking boys, plus Nathaneal, and Lila. If they banded together, which it seemed to her like they would, then Chloe Bourgeouis was in for one mega-beating.

"My er, mirror is missing my face. BUT, _this isn't over._ " Chloe hissed out that last part, eyes on Marinette.

"Woah, did you see that Nino? Those guys totally just stood up for Mari. Lila too I guess." Alya whispered excitedly. Nino nodded, he too had just seen everything, including Adrien defending Marinette and shaking Chloe off.

"He actually just completely rejected Chloe. Not like he hadn't rejected her before or anything, but he usually found an excuse to get her to lay off." The DJ breathed, transfixed.

"Hello! Earth to Nino." Rose practically sung, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Oh- er yeah?"

The pink-dress clad girl sighed, and rolled her eyes at him.

"You're supposed to be working, not ogling at another group!"

Lila hugged Mari tightly. "I'm sorry about her." She whispered softly, as if her words and the embrace could shield her from Chloe's bullying.

"It's fine, Lila."

Adrien frowned. Why did Lila get to be the one to hug her and tell her everything is okay? He looked to the other boys, they were frowning too.

The brunette removed herself from Marinette, and grabbed Adrien by the arm.

Adrien struggled against Lila's hold on his forearm, in a failed attempt to prevent her from dragging him away.

Marinette looked at them, eyebrows furrowed. She wanted to know what Lila was doing, but she knew not to question her on something like this.

"You!" The brunette hissed, pointing to Adrien.

"Me?" He asked, looking around, unsure of what he was supposed to do in a situation like this.

"Yes, you. I chose you for a reason." She told him, rolling her eyes.

"Wh-" He was about to ask what she meant, when he was interrupted by the girl herself.

"I don't want you flirting with her, like that Dean boy or tomato-head. I want you to be different, don't make that kiss mean more than a good performance."

He mock saluted at her, a fake serious expression on his face. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

She punched him in the arm, to get him to take the matter in a less-childish way. Not lightly, may I add.

"Ouch." His expression hardened to something she'd never seen on him before, an expression of determination. Not the same mildly-motivated face he wore during tests, but raw devotion.

"I can't promise that, but I will keep the other boys away from her."

Lila nodded, that wasn't what she was going for, but it would help. They walked back towards the group side-by-side. They were on good terms now, they were allies in the sense that they had the same enemies.

Said enemies were currently glaring at each other, occasionally breaking the stare to gaze at Marinette.

Lila slid into her seat next to Marinette, looking down at both the boys. "How about you get on with the project instead of making kissy-faces at each other." She sneered, referring to the small-pouts Nathaneal and Dean wore when glaring.

Dean huffed, looking away from Lila and towards Chloe. 'She'd make a good second target.' He thought absentmindedly, watching her observe herself in the mirror. 'But, she's too mean. Chloe knows how evil minds work, she'd spot my true intentions a mile away.'

"How about me and Lila work on the script, and you boys make the props for a scene once we finish writing it?" Marinette suggested.

"Good idea!" Lila exclaimed. This way, she'd be with Mari, and those boys would have to work together, and leave them alone.

"Fine." Dean agreed half-heartedly, too absorbed in watching Chloe's vain antics to pay attention to what he was agreeing with.

Nathaneal looked surprised, Dean just willingly gave up a chance to be with Marinette. Then again, he did look sort of distracted.

Adrien nodded his head, he wanted a chance to put those two in their places. Places that were far away from Marinette.

"Great. You guys take five while we write the first scene, then you can make the props for it. It might be a good idea to gather materials though." Marinette told them, a hand on Lila's shoulder.

"Nathaneal can narrate at the start." Lila whispered, hunched over a piece of paper inbetween herself and Marinette.

"How about we start with the line: Once upon a time. That's how most fairy-tales start isn't it?" The boys set off to find an empty classroom to work in, with Madame Bustier's permission.

Twenty minutes later, the first scene had been scripted, and the boy's were yet again arguing.

"Agreste. You're painting it wrong, it's supposed to be gold, not neon yellow." Nathaneal complained, looking at the crown Adrien was painting.

The model stood up to full height, looking down at Nathaneal, who just cowered before him.

"It hasn't dried yet. If you bothered to read the tin, it says it dries gold, but looks yellow when fresh." Dean drawled, rolling his eyes.

"O-Oh." Nathaneal squeaked, getting back to nailing the throne together. Dean sat on his already finished throne, while Nathaneal worked on putting the other one together.

"So, pretty boy. What do you see in Marinette?" The red-eyed boy asked unintrestedly, staring at the cream ceiling.

"Well, she's beautiful, kind, caring and she'll stand up to Chloe for other people."

Dean rolled his eyes, and sat up properly in the wooden throne. "You mean you actually like her?"

Nathaneal glared at Dean from behind the back of his throne.

"Of course I do." Adrien admitted, looking at his paint-covered hands.

"That's sweet and all. But I thought someone with looks like yours would play the field, like me." He shrugged.

Ntahneal growled, he actually growled. Not in his head, or anything like that, he _actually_ growled. A wolf-like growl. It would have been impressive for someone as nervous as him, had anyone actually heard it, which they didn't.

"Play the field?" The model asked, frowning.

"Go for a girl, charm said girl, break her heart." Dean explained as if it was the most casual topic ever.

"Why would you do that?" Adrien was horrified, he knew people could be cruel. But this, this was just _sadistic._

"It's enjoyable. The look on their faces when you tell them they never meant anything, when you break every promise, when you leave them for their best friend, or use them for money." The new student told him, a twisted smile stretched out on his lips.

Adrien decided to change the subject before he lost his cool, and throttled Dean. His mother, though she disappeared later on, raised him to be a perfect gentleman, and to care about the welfare of women. It disgusted him that Dean could speak so easily about hurting a lady like that.

"What does this have to do with Marinette?"

"Simple, that's what'll happen to her after I love her and leave her."

Then, both Adrien and Nathaneal actually _did_ throttle Dean. The red-head dived from his position, leaving the hammer and nails discarded by the throne. Adrien wrapped his hands around Dean's neck, the crown that had dried and turned to a gold colour abandoned on the floor.

Marinette pushed the door open, looking down at her paper.

"Hey guys, I brought a list of props we need for the second scene." She looked up from the paper, expecting to see them working or resting, not killing Dean.

"STOP IT!" She shrieked, dropping the list.

A/N; Drama! PLEASE REVIEW! I'm sorry this chapter is late, I was trying to write that fight scene a bit better. How did you think it turned out?

NOTE TO BETA MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS?!

Heya! Yes, you definitely can have too much coffee. Any coffee is too much, any at all. I absolutely hate it . Dean noticed Chloe, and she called him smouldering. *Le gasp* Hehe. I'm working on the final chapter of BOTBS now! YAYYY!

-LT xx


	6. Prepare for war

Centre of Affection

A/N; So, we're about half-way through with this story. I finished BOTBS today, and started my new series 'What Instinct Demands' it's an assassin/police au. Go check it out! Anyway, on with the chapter.

Nathaneal and Adrien immediately got off Dean. The red-eyed boy didn't really feel any pain from it, just a mild discomfort, but, Marinette didn't know that. She offered him a hand, which he took.

When he stood up, she tried to remove her hand from his grasp, but he wouldn't relinquish his hold on it. She struggled, pulling away.

"Dean please let go." She winced; her hand was beginning to hurt.

He let go of her hand, and put the back of it to his forehead dramatically.

"Oh, I am sorry. In my pain I must have released a fragment of it onto you, to distract myself from it."

Marinette looked at him weirdly. Why was Dean acting so strangely? Adrien gave him the same funny look. 'Is he wrong in the head?' The model asked himself 'Is that what he thinks is a believable performance?'

"Marinette Dean is-" Nathaneal started, only to be interrupted by the red-eyed-boy.

"I'm _what_?" He sneered, grinning wildly at both of the boys.

"Never mind." Nathaneal spat out, gritting his teeth. He knew it was no use, Marinette was too forgiving, and they had no proof.

Marinette raised an eyebrow sceptically; there was something here that the boys seemed to be keeping from her.

"Are you okay, Dean?" She changed the subject.

"I'm in pain, but, don't concern yourself with my wellbeing." He tilted his head to the side,gazing off into the distance.

"Er- okay." She didn't really sound certain of what she was meant to say, and went to pick up the list.

"Now, why were you strangling Dean?" Marinette asked sternly, hands on hips.

Adrien narrowed his eyes at Dean. "Personal issues." He hissed. Marinette decided not to ask, she knew Adrien could be very sensitive about his personal life, and opted to just wonder what kind of personal issue could affect both him and Nathaneal.

It wasn't like the two were close, or even related. Actually, Marinette didn't think the two had ever actually spoken. They didn't have much in common, other than both being in Madame Bustiers class, and having an apparent need to deprive the new student of oxygen.

She gave the list to Adrien, blushing madly when their hands brushed together.

"I- I should g-get going, I'll b-be back in a w-while." She stuttered, backing out of the room.

Lila tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. What was taking her so long? All Marinette was doing was delivering a list, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking she was missing something. It was probably nothing. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the girl she was just thinking about walk through the door.

"Mari, why did you take so long?" Lila asked her deskmate, as she slid into the seat next to her.

"When I walked in, Nathaneal and Adrien were trying to kill Dean! Because of 'personal issues.' I'm worried, Lila." She whispered, summarising what just happened.

'So, model boy decided to eliminate Dean, tomato head too. Interesting..' Lila thought, tapping her chin.

"I'm writing the fight scene between the Prince, and Maleficent." The brunette stated, smiling.

"Oh, I love that part!" Marinette squealed, leaning over to read what Lila had written.

Dean smirked at the growling boys. "You can't lay a finger on me, I already have the lead in this race, and I intend for it to stay that way."

Adrien leaned in close, and whispered in his ear. "You're going down; she'll never give you a second glance after I expose you for what you really are."

Dean paled, and started to shake, but quickly composed himself. "We'll see about that."

"I'm going to start on the props we need for this next scene." Nathaneal declared, snatching the paper from Adrien, who huffed at him.

He used the cutting machine to make a thin, wooden stick that ended in a point. He sanded it so it was flat, and less likely to injure someone. Nathaneal had made the hilt to the sword earlier, and attached them using superglue. There it was, with some silver paint, it would be the perfect costume-sword.

Next, the red head decided to make his wand, shaking his head at the thought of how humiliating it was going to be to play the fairy.

"Done!" He told them.

"Nice job." Adrien complimented him, and then remembering Nathaneal was his enemy, he added "But I could do better." A slightly obnoxious undertone to it.

The artist rolled his eyes. "I'm going to get supplies."

Nathaneal walked out of the room, leaving Dean and Adrien alone together.

"Okay, pretty boy." Dean started, narrowing his eyes.

"You won't stop me, I always end up breaking their hearts." He made a heart sign, cupping his hands, and pressing his fingers together, so his thumbs met and his other fingers were nail-to-nail.

"And, there's nothing you can do about it." He spilt his hands apart harshly, miming the heart splitting in two.

Adrien growled and took his white jacket off.

"And we're finished!" Marinette exclaimed, holding the script. Lila took it from her, smiling.

"I'm delivering this." She told the blue-haired girl in a sing-song voice. Marinette shot her a knowing look.

"Don't kill anyone; I don't want to have to bail you out of jail."

Lila snorted, and flicked her hair in a joking manner. "As if they could catch me." They bantered back and forth like that for a further five minutes, ending when Lila sighed, and walked through the door.

Nathaneal was walking down the hallway, minding his own business. In his hands was a woodedn box, containing string and wood. Unfortunately, he was too wrapped up in his thoughts, he failed to notice Lila.

Lila was also walking down the hallway, humming a small tune, looking down at the final script, the one she needed to give the other members of the group. She walked into something solid, and fell to the floor.

Nathaneal fell onto the shiny flooring of the school, the box flying from his hands. Had anyone been passing by, they would have seen Lila and Nathaneal sprawled on the floor, red string knotted around their ankles.

The brunette groaned, and tried to stand up, but the red string around the artists' and her own ankles prevented her. She flushed as she thought how that probably looks.

She turned to him, and it wasn't just his hair that was red. He looked more tomato-like than ever before, and, to her horror, she found it mildly cute. 'Why?' She wailed internally, scrunching her eyes shut.

"We're uh-stuck." He told her.

"Clever observation." She deadpanned.

He didn't know why- maybe it was the lighting, or the atmosphere, but he found the green of her eyes, her smile (She'd never smiled at him, but he had seen her smile at Marinette.) Her everything, cute.

This wasn't normal.

The way he stared at her in wonder made Lila think, was this boy staring at her? Was it a dream? The only way boys started at her now, was when they thought she wasn't looking, or in disgust. She was a filthy liar, and no one could be attracted to a filthy liar.

"Do you have any scissors?" She asked quietly, an uneasy smile playing on her lips.

 **Why on earth did he make her feel like** _ **smiling?**_

The only person she would smile at was Marinette, and he was most certainly not her. Not good, not good at all.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "No…"

Lila groaned, they were either going to have to get up and ask for scissors to cut the string, or untie it. Since the first wasn't an option, she did have some shreds of dignity to guard, they would have to detangle the knotted red mass of string.

"We'll have to undo it all."

Marinette waited in the classroom, looking at Alya. She was sitting suspiciously close to Nino, embroiled in conversation. They talked animatedly, bright smiles on their faces, she looked so happy. 'Maybe they'll finally get together.' She mused.

Then, she realised her mistake, they were doing a play, and they had no costumes. Her hand found her forehead very easily, and she pulled her sketchbook from her bag. Later on, she would have to get everyone's measurements and opinions on their costumes.

But, for now, it was just her. So, she started designing, outlining the costumes.

Lila's nimble fingers unwound the string from her ankles until it was loose enough for her to step out of. Nathaneal did the same, offering her an awkward smile. She picked up the string, and a few of the slabs of wood, and put them into the box.

She held it out to him and he took it. "I er- need to show Dean and Adrien the script." She told him.

Together, they headed to the room the boys were 'working' in. What they saw, well, wasn't the kind of work they were hoping for.

Dean, now jacketless, lunged at Adrien.

Lila ran between the two, stopping them. "You will explain to me what's going on right now, or I'll tell Mari. She was not impressed at your last little show, remember." She hissed, glaring mostly at Dean.

Adrien growled. "Well, Dean here wants to break her heart."

"Love her and leave her, leaving her broken and in tears preferably." The red-eyed boy shrugged.

Lila looked livid. (A/N; Wow, alliteration! Points for trying?) This idiot thought he could just swoop in and hurt her best friend? He was going down.

She threw the finished script at the wall. "You hurt her, and you die." She threatened. Nathaneal stood behind her, next to Adrien.

"Tomorrow night, the park. Winner gets Marinette, everyone else backs off." Dean told them. They nodded, solemn looks on their faces.

Lila dragged Adrien off to the corner of the room by his ear. "Ouch, ouch, ouch." He whispered under his breath.

"You and me," She gestured to herself and then Adrien. "Will take both of them out, okay? I hope you're strong, lover boy."

He paled slightly. "We're actually going to do this?"

"Yes! I care about her – and if you had a single working brain cell, you would too."

"I do care about her – but she's way too afraid of me to talk to me."

"Afraid? Are you insane?" Her eyebrows furrowed together, Mari might get hurt if that boy didn't return her feelings, but, she could also use his blindness to her advantage.

She shook her head, and changed the subject. "We need to practice, we don't have much time."

"I could sneak out? But, if anyone catches me, I won't be alive to fight." He warned.

"Good, we'll meet at the gym at about ten."

Lila picked up the script, and thrust it at Adrien's chest.

"You boys, learn your lines." She smiled slightly at Nathaneal, and walked out of the room, occasionally glancing backwards.

Marinette finished Lila's dress design. It was a floor length inky black dress, with a sweetheart neckline. It had fake emeralds to bring out her eyes around the hem and neckline. Around her waist would be black belt, with a large fake emerald in the centre.

Lila walked back into the classroom, a glimmer of worry shining in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I don't ever want to lose you." The brunette whispered, hugging her desk mate. Lila could feel the tears form in her eyes, and desperately blinked them back. If this was one of the last times she would ever talk to her, then so be it.

If she lost, she would lose the only person who ever really cared. Though she hadn't known her very long, barely any time at all, she knew to treasure the precious time they had.

A/N; Hello, I'm sorry I hadn't updated for a while, but I was waiting for my beta's review of my new story, which, as of now, she still hasn't done. *Clears throat* Anyway, please review!

Note to beta:

*sends howler*

WHERE ARE YOU NOW THAT I NEED YA? I'M SO WORRIED! DON'T DO THAT TO ME! I'M NOTHING WITHOUT YOUUU!

Okay, now that's off my chest, how did I do? Also, I'm going to be gone the next two days, I'm at a sleepover, then going to town with my friends after the sleepover, and I know I'll be super tired. Yes! You're a potterhead too! I thought you'd be like; A harry potter reference? Oh god your lame.

LT xx


	7. It just got real

Centre of Affection

A/N; So, my wonderful people, I am back. After a small hiatus, I decided I would write this chapter for you! Also, I now have wattpad. Skip to end of chappie for more info! In this chapter, there's sort of an Adrien Q & A. You'll see what I mean later…

Marinette returned the hug.

"What's wrong Lila?" She asked slowly, her face creasing in worry.

"I'm just- scared. Scared someone's going to come in between us." The olive-eyed girl whimpered.

"Nothing's going to happen, okay? No one's going to come between us." The bluenette reassured her.

Lila pulled out of the hug and smiled at her best friend. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Hey, wanna see the outfit I designed for you to wear for the play?" Marinette asked, changing the subject.

Lila nodded, and gasped when her desk mate opened her sketch book to reveal a beautiful gown.

"This is gorgeous! You do realise you're playing the princess, not me, right?" She laughed.

Underneath that giggling exterior though, was a very touched unpopular girl. It took effort to design something like that, and this short half-asian girl had done hers' first. She could have used a design like that on her dress, but no. Lila really had turned it around, she'd found someone that cared for her. Someone that put her first, even though she was far from deserving it.

"Of course I do, silly. This is just a rough outline, once I've properly taken your measurements, it'll look _so_ much better."

Lila's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. How could she be so hard on herself? A piece like that was fabulous, too fabulous to critique. This girl sure was a perfectionist.

"There's such a thing as better than _this?_ Mari, designers would _kill_ to have something like this in their collection." The brunette told her, pointing dramatically at the design.

Marinette smiled. "Thanks Lila."

"Want to take my measurements now, Mari?" The olive-eyed girl asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Sure. Stand up, and spread your arms apart."

With the boys, there were no displays of friendship. No, no. This was war, not boy scouts. There was no room for niceness, or general tolerance of the others, just a lot of glaring and self-restraint.

Well, to any people passing by the scene, it would have looked like a bunch of teens squinting at each other, which, is essentially what is actually happening here. But, to us, it's so much more than three adolescent males narrowing their eyes collectively.

Dean smirked. "Blondie, Ariel. I'll be seeing you soon, if you haven't noticed, time flies when you're about to steal a girls heart. Even more so when you're with the half-brained idiots who think they can protect her."

"You little-" Adrien started, being interrupted by the unusually collected redhead.

"Save it for the fight. I actually want my competition to be alive."

 **Ring! Ring! Ring!**

The bell ripped them from their argument, one that would prove to be very aggressive in future, and they parted ways.

Adrien headed for his limo, glaring sideways at Dean.

"You won't win this one, pretty boy." The red-eyed boy whispered, malicious intent evident in his near silent foreshadowing.

"Bye Mari!" Lila yelled, waving to her blue-haired friend.

"Bye Lila!" Marinette shouted back.

The blue-eyed girl walked back home slowly, a seed of suspicion planted firmly in the back of her mind.

She knew Lila just about long enough to tell when something wasn't right. The way Lila looked uneasy whenever she thought Marinette wasn't looking confirmed her theory.

Something very big, something that would impact everything was about to happen, and she could do nothing about it. All there was to do was stay aware, painstakingly aware.

Adrien looked in the mirror of his bathroom. Ignoring Plagg floating confusedly around him, the model shrouded himself in his own thoughts. He dived into the whirlpool of strange and powerful repressed emotions that was his mind.

He sifted through the questions he desperately wanted to know the answer to, attempting to come up with an explanation for a few of them.

'Why am I acting like this?'

Call it territorial. Call it possessiveness, or jealousy. What he didn't realise at the time was – he appreciated Marinette, more than even he knew. They were friends, granted, not very close ones, but friends none the less. Poor Adrien didn't have any people he could trust in his life as a child, which resulted in him now latching onto the ones he had. He never wanted to see them go.

'How did I end up in this mess?'

Madame Bustier decided a change of seats was in order.

'Why is Nathaneal suddenly not shy or afraid at all?'

Really, there was no way for Adrien to know the answer to this at all, but he was determined to stop the questions.

Marinette brings out the best in everyone – sometimes Chloe is even hesitant to bully her. His crush on her just fuels the fire.

"Why am I not being fed any cheese?" A voice interrupted.

'Because cheese is irrelevant – why am I thinking of cheese at a time like this? Wait. That wasn't me…'

Adrien blinked. "Oh, Plagg. I forgot you were there."

"Cheese would make it all better – cheese is the answer. Give me cheese." The black kwami moaned.

"We don't have time for cheese, Plagg. I need to think." The blonde boy told him.

"Think about getting me cheese!" He exclaimed, prodding his charge in the face.

"Fine." Adrien grumbled, leaving the room to go to the kitchen for cheese.

By quarter-past nine, one cat kwami had gorged himself senseless on cheese. Smelly, aged, sticky cheese. And Adrien had changed into some sweat pants and a black muscle tee.

"Come on, we need to go." Adrien stressed, looking wide-eyed at his kwami.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not going with you kid. My belly is too bloated."

"Give me some of your energy, that should make me stronger, and last long enough for the fight."

"Hey! I ain't no maid." Plagg complained.

"Yeah, you're too lazy to clean anything. And besides, maids don't turn people into superheroes." He drawled.

"How do you know, huh? Ladybug's kwami could be old Esmerelda from the kitchen."

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Adrien remarked sarcastically.

"You know, if I weren't a cat god, I'd be a comedian." Plagg told him, a wicked smile forming on his face.

"Stop it, you're wasting our time. Get in the bag, and lend me some energy."

The kwami huffed, and did as he was told.

"Don't come crying to me when you're overcome with adrenaline. There's a reason kwami's and humans aren't supposed to share energy." Came his muffled reply from the black satchel.

"Yeah, yeah."

Adrien locked his door, and walked over to his window. A smile crept up his face, as he felt the rush of both freedom and kwami energy run through his veins.

He clambered out of the window, crawling expertly down the brickwork of Agreste manor. He landed on the ground with a thud.

After glancing either way, the model took off into the night.

He ran quickly across the cobbled streets, barely registering his surroundings. Adrien stopped and took in a deep breath. Only two more streets to run until he reached the gym. He groaned in exasperation.

'I should have just transformed to get there.' He complained mentally, breaking into a run again.

Marinette sat on her balcony, gazing at the stars.

"Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed, looking wildly at her wielder. "You should get some rest, you've finished Lila's costume, that's enough for today."

"I want to just design Dean's outfit."

"You've worked too hard. Bed, now!" The kwami scolded her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure run past the bakery very quickly, concealed by the shadows.

"What was that?" The half-chinese girl whispered, walking closer to the edge of the balcony.

"Probably nothing. Someone out for a late-night run."

Tikki flew out in front of her, and narrowed her eyes.

"It's not an akuma, don't worry. Now, BED!"

Marinette scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, if it's not an akuma.."

"Sleep!" Tikki commanded, settling on her shoulder.

"And it's pretty late.."

"Go on!" Tikki urged, waving her small arms about.

"I guess I should get some sleep." Marinette finished with a shrug, Tikki wobbling slightly from the sudden movement.

"Success!" The kwami whispered.

Two streets later, Adrien had finally managed to reach the gym. It was a large one-storey building covered in one way glass panels. Once inside the gym, you could see out of them, but from the outside, all you could see was a murky grey.

The panels were outlines in grey, as it was the primary colour of the building.

He pushed open the grey-glass door, to find a totally deserted lobby.

The lights flickered on, illuminating the lobby. Adrien blinked, getting his eyes adjusted to the light in the room.

There was a door to his left, leading into the actual gym. The carpeting was teal, contrasting to the dullness of the building. Metal tables and chairs were all around him, a large desk in the corner of the room.

"Boo." A sickeningly sweet voice whispered in his ear, sending chills down his spine.

Adrien whirled around immediately, yelping in fright. Behind him was a very smug looking girl, brown hair piled on her head in a bun, wearing an orange shirt and some black shorts.

"Anyone ever told you the truth?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well," She continued "I'll enlighten you. You scream like a girl, Agreste."

He rolled his eyes. "Wow, Lila. Your support really motivates me." He drawled sarcastically.

"Really? That's great!" She chirped, skipping towards the door on their left.

Adrien sighed, and followed her through the door.

The room was huge. There were weights, and various other things scattered around the gym. What intrigued him the most was the large mat in the centre of the room.

Lila stood in the middle of the mat, and gestured for him to come over.

"Fight me, blondie." She stated simply, raising her fists.

"What?!"

"What exactly do you think is going to happen tomorrow night? We have a tea party? No. Get your head in the game!" She barked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I don't think I can fight you." He raised his hands to show surrender.

"If you can't fight me, you can't fight Dean or Nath." Lila told him, looking bored.

"I guess you're right…" Adrien too assumed a fighting stance.

"Prepare to be schooled." She smirked.

He gulped. She was scary when she was as confident and as motivated as this. 'You're Chat Noir.' He told himself over and over in his head, in some sort of attempt to raise his moral.

She threw a punch at him, which Adrien blocked easily. He smiled smugly at her.

Lila swept her foot under his legs, knocking him backwards onto the mat.

"Lesson one. Do _not_ let your guard down. It could cost you." She hummed.

Adrien grumbled and pushed himself up. He send a kick at her, aiming for her torso. She jumped out of the way, and growled.

'She's strong.' He noted mentally.

A hard punch to the jaw knocked him out of his thoughts.

"Ouch.." He mumbled, massaging his aching face.

"Pay attention to lesson one." Lila taunted him, tutting.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. If it was a fight she wanted, a fight she would get. Now he was jacked up on kwami energy, he would be just about as strong as he was in his Chat Noir form.

He hit her in the shoulder, and Lila just smiled sweetly.

"Don't get smart, Agreste. You won't like me when I'm angry." She whispered, an unsaid threat hidden behind the innocent façade.

She punched back, using both fists. One hand hit its target, his right cheek; the other was caught in his hand.

"Lesson two?" He asked, determination flickering in his green eyes.

A/N; I AM SO SORRY! SO SORRY THIS WAS LATE! I'll be uploading one chapter per week of this now, this chappie just took ages to write. **Please Review!** This isn't too far from being complete, actually. Another few chapters, perhaps?

NOTE TO BETA: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS;

I hate to upload less often, but I have SO much homework right now. Next chapter; Adrien falls asleep on Marinette, cos he's so tired. That sound alright? Also, Lila and Nath share lunch. Chloe and Dean argue…

-LT xx


	8. Game of Love

Centre of affection

A/N; It's me…again. Wait. Who else could it have been? ONWARDS…

Warning; Plagg OOC-ness.

Adrien sank into his bed, ignoring his screaming muscles.

Plagg tutted, bobbing up and down in the air. "I told you so."

Adrien rolled his eyes at the cat kwami. "I'll be fine tomorrow. We both know this is just a side-effect, and I'll be even stronger for the fight."

The cat god shook his head. "Why are you even doing this? Eat some cheese."

"I'm doing this because I _care_ about her, Plagg."

"Would you do the same for that reporter girl?" He asked, cradling a piece of camembert in his small arms.

"Well – I uh, probably not…" The model stuttered, looking at anything but Plagg.

He snickered. "Someone's got it bad…"

"No! What I meant was – there'd be no reason for me to fight! Yes. Nino would be all over that fight – I wouldn't need to lift a finger…" Adrien tried to sound convincing, though the hint of uncertainty shining through his words just fuelled Plagg's maniacal laughter.

"Would you do the same for ladybug?" The cat god asked slyly.

"Absolutely." He answered, nodding his head.

"Ooh! A love triangle! Wait – would it be a love square? No, no. I forgot about those other two boys and Lila."

"A love heptagon!" Plagg exclaimed wildly a moment later.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. "Ladybug hasn't been seen at all – I doubt she even has the slightest clue as to what's going on."

"LOVE HEPTAGON!" The small black creature chanted, ignoring his chosen.

"And Chat Noir – wait… Chat Noir!"

"Can I get a love? Can I get a heptagon?"

"If I use him, I'll get Dean out of the way faster." Adrien mused, mentally distancing himself from Plagg's outlandish wails.

"L-O-V-E. Add a heptagon, what does it spell?"

"But will that be abusing my power?" He asked himself, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Love~! Heptagon~! Ooh!" The cat-got sang, bobbing up and down rhythmically.

"I'm just so…tired." Adrien yawned, rolling over to look at his alarm-clock.

"It's six in the morning~! And there's a love heptagon!" Plagg chirped, smiling at the look of horror on his chosen's face.

"I'm never gonna get enough sleep!" He exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Sleepy love heptagon!"

"Enough!" Adrien begged.

"Moody love heptagon!"

"Just _stop_. _"_ He demanded, gritting his teeth, and balling his fists, sitting bolt upright on his bed.

"Mildly aggressive love heptagon!"

Adrien swung his hand around, and caught the floating kwami in his hand.

"I'm telling you just-" He started, eyebrows twitching in irritation.

"LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!"

"Plagg~!"

"Ooh! Love! Heptagon! What's that? LOVE HEPTAGON!"

"Forget it." Adrien huffed, releasing the kwami and rolling over to face away from him.

"Love heptagons~! Heptagons and cheese! Ooh drama!"

He fell asleep to cries of how 'love heptagons would revolutionize romance' and chants of those two words Adrien found himself detesting very quickly.

A sharp knock on the door stirred him from his short sleep.

"Adrien, you need to go now!" The familiar voice of Nathalie commanded an edge of annoyance to her voice.

"One minute!" Adrien answered groggily.

He heard a sigh from the other side of his door, and pushed himself off his bed to get dressed.

-Plagg POV—

I floated in the air, looking at the kid. How in the seven hells did he get only two hours of sleep and still manage to look pristine?

I had no idea a human could function with so little rest, putting the boys' excellent ability to survive with a small amount of sleep down to the fact that he absorbed some of my energy.

Ah, there it was. Mr. Perfect finally slipped up.

While he seemed to look absolutely fine, I watched him walk straight into the bathroom door. Laughter erupts from my mouth as I watch him look at the door in confusion.

"That moment when the force of the love heptagon hits you." I tease, enjoying the unamused look he sent me.

"Eh?" He asked unintelligently, making me go even more hysterical.

"Looks like that love heptagon did something to your brain."

-Normal POV-

"Adrien!" The scolding voice of Nathalie squealed. She looked down at her wrist watch. That boy was going to be severely late.

"Ready!" He exclaimed drowsily, pushing the door open half-heartedly, almost falling over when it swung open.

"You look dreadful!" She whispered, putting a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Make-up!" She called, summoning a group on five twenty-year-old interns hired specifically to fix any blemishes on his skin.

"This isn't necessary." Adrien yawned.

"Have you seen yourself? The press would have a field day if you turned up to school looking like that."

A blonde woman with bright blue eyes brushed concealer over the dark rings around his eyes.

Well, if you're wondering why Adrien isn't still super hyped up on kwami energy is because he hasn't activated it yet. The energy is only there for three days and only active whenever the user wills it to be and when it is first borrowed.

During the period of time when the energy is inactivated, the wielder of the energy is drained and groggy. After the three days, the person tends to be extremely tired, just as they are when the energy is inactive.

Simple, really.

After deciding Adrien looked presentable, Gabriel's assistant ushered him to the limo.

"You're very late, so tell your teacher you were at a photo shoot. I do _not_ have the time to let you get a detention; it would ruin the whole schedule." Nathalie told him, staring out of the blue-tinted window.

Adrien just nodded in response, leaning his forehead to the cool glass.

"What do I have scheduled for the rest of the day?"

"After school, you have Chinese and fencing. Tomorrow, you have a phot shoot, so please try to look somewhat nice for that." The woman sighed, looking forlornly at her charge.

What a shame.

He was robbed of his childhood at an early age, subjected to his father's whims, used like a pawn in a game of chess. His only remaining relative was his father, who remained cold and distant from him at all times. People wanted him for his money, fame and looks. Not for _him_ , but for the life that comes with him.

What a shame, indeed.

The limo came to a halt before the steps of the school. Adrien thanked Nathalie, and opened the

door himself instead of having his chauffeur do it for him.

Across the yard, Marinette waved slowly at him, Lila by her side pretending she hadn't noticed

Adrien. He walked over to them, ignoring Dean glaring daggers at him from just a few meters away.

"Hey girls."

"H-Hi Adrien." The bluenette said shyly.

Lila just grunted, begrudgingly acknowledging his presence. She gave him a flat look, her olive eyes

full of obvious dislike for him. Yes, she may have to work with him to be able to maintain her part in

her best friends life. No, she did not like him.

It really wasn't personal. She just didn't like anyone, especially a person of the male variety, within a hundred feet of Marinette. Unless it was absolutely necessary for the good of the earth. Even then, she still didn't like it. To hell with the greater good. Males, no matter their intentions, were a threat.

What if they fell in love? And got married? And forgot about her?  
She would have _nothing._ Nothing at all. Marinette was all she had, her one shot at redemption for the terrible lies she had told.

Pretending to be a hero was a terrible crime. Impersonating someone who was selfless, courageous, humble.

No matter if she did it as Volpina. She also pretended to live a great life, and told everyone Ladybug wasn't so great.

 _She belittled the heroic actions of a truly great person._

"C'mon Lila, I need to show you your costume!"

Lila smiled softly, her grin widening ten-fold when her best friend pulled a black bundle from her bag. Marinette shook it out, holding the dress by where the shoulders would be to display her work to Lila.

"What do you think? It's not very good, just a rough model. I will remake it if you don't like-" She started.

"It's beautiful! Trust me; there is no need whatsoever to remake it. The dress is absolutely perfect!" The brunette praised her, looking in admiration at the gown.

"Y-You really think so?" Marinette asked in a small, barely audible voice.

"Of course I do!" Lila exclaimed, putting her arm around Marinette's shoulders. Marinette folded the dress up, and carefully put it back in her bag, a happy smile etched onto her doll-like face.

RING!

The sound of the bell broke them from their break, and they both, along with hundreds of other students, rushed inside to class.

Madame Bustier, gave Marinette a sceptical look. What was with that girl? Suddenly, she was being on time. Like, actually making it on time to class. She had started to notice things going on between her students more and more.

Maybe a change of seats was a bad idea. But, it was far too late to take it back now.

They didn't think she noticed. They never had thought that she would.

Adrien would never have suspected she noticed the way he smiled softly at Marinette. The way he challenged Dean. The way he looked at her in awe.

But, she did. She knew the way her new seating plan was affecting them, she observed both the subtle and drastic changes.

She was too familiar with the way Dean looked at the clumsy blue-haired girl like a possession. Like she was no more than a mere toy that belonged to him.

She watched how Lila and Alya defended her no matter what. The way Lila looked to her for guidance, the way Alya appreciated her company. The way both of them treated her like family; like no matter what she did, she would always be perfect in their eyes.

She watched, and she knew. Such was her life.

"Okay, class. Get into your groups, and continue your project. Remember, keep the noise level to a minimum, so you don't disturb other classes." She chirped, sitting down at her desk.

Chloe snorted from her position on the bench. She had her feet on the headrest of the chair in front of her, and her arms resting on the back of the chair she was lounging in.

"Merlock or whatever your name is, give me a back massage." The blonde girl demanded casually.

"No Chloe." Mylene huffed, glaring at the mayors daughter.

"I'll do it!" Sabrina chanted dutifully, smiling at Chloe.

"Ugh fine, but you better give me a massage ten times better than the last one." Chloe rolled her eyes at her ginger best friend.

"Come on guys let's get to work." Mylene smirked, knowing that their prank on Chloe would get her back for ordering them to do outlandish tasks and treating them like garbage.

Ivan smiled wickedly, and wrapped his hand around his girlfriend's waist. "Yeah, we should start soon, if we're going to pull this off."

Lila put her hand on Marinette's shoulder, and glared at the boys gathering around them.

The bluenette nodded at the boys. "I'm just going with Lila while she tries on the costume, to check if it needs any final adjustments." She explained, standing up.

"Costume?" Dean asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I made it, but I'm not sure if it fits."

"Wow. I'm impressed, can I see?" He asked, the usual cryptic look on his face.

"Of course!" Marinette exclaimed, pulling the dress from her bag. She unfolded it carefully, revealing the dree to them.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Lila asked, an exited look on her face replacing the protective frown that was there earlier.

"Isn't the neckline a bit low?" Nathaneal asked, eyebrows knitting together. He, for whatever reason, did _not_ like the idea of Lila being on display to anyone but him.

Marinette shrugged. "That's one of the things I need to check. I forgot to get Lila's bust line so I may need to make some alterations there."

"O-Oh." He whispered, crimson engulfing his face.

'He looks kind of cute like that.' Lila mused, all ideas of reprimanding herself for thinking like that lost. She sighed mentally.

'What's happened to me?'

A/N; SO SORRY THIS IS LATE. THAT'S IT.

Well except that I'm super busy with all my stories and my Wattpad, which you should totally go and check out.


	9. What everything comes to

Centre of Affection

A/N; I'm back! This story is approaching completion now, I've had so much fun writing this and reading your responses. We probably have three more chapters depending on how I spread the events out.

IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER! PLEASE READ IT!

Lila twirled around in the bathroom, wearing the beautiful dress. She looked down, admiring the handiwork of the outfit. The way the fake emeralds were sewn carefully across the neckline, the way it hugged her figure perfectly.

She appreciated it. So much.

She thought no one could care for a liar. She thought no one could do anything so spectacular for a liar. She thought no one could ever come to trust a liar. She was a liar, and she thought wrong.

"Ready to show the boys?" Mari chirped.

"Gah! No."

"*Cough* Nathaneal *Cough*"

Lila's face suddenly went a bright shade of red. "I have n-no clue what y-you're o-on about." She stuttered, in a mangled attempt to sound dignified.

"Sure you don't." She teased, enjoying the flustered side of her protective desk mate.

"Whatever. I'm not showing them." She huffed.

"They're gonna see you in it sometime." Marinette shrugged.

"Fine."

Marinette smiled, and grabbed Lila by the hand, pulling her out of the bathroom into the hallway. She smiled back at the nervous-looking girl she was dragging around.

'Why do I care so much about what he thinks?' She asked herself despairingly.

Lila looked ready to bolt when Marinette pushed the door open. The bluenette hummed quietly, pushing on the creaky wooden door.

Dean looked over at Chloe. It was annoying him – the way she used her father's power to get what she wanted, the way she was so cold and cruel to everyone. It was annoying him that he found those things _hot._

He watched Sabrina "massage" her back. She was doing it all wrong! He spent the summer in anger management. They taught him yoga, and other ways to use his energy. They also taught him how to give one hell of a massage.

That ginger kid was _not_ giving one hell of a massage. It was clear. She was aggravating the muscles instead of easing them; that was clear to see. He growled and dug his nails into the wood.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"That is not how you give a massage!" Dean exclaimed, standing up.

Chloe snorted. "You're telling me. Sabrina, you're doing it _wrong._ "

The ginger girl looked down at the floor dejectedly. "Sorry Chloe." She murmured, removing her hands from the blonde's shoulders.

Dean sighed and rolled his sleeves up. "I'll show you how to massage." He grumbled, storming over to Chloe.

She cast him an inquisitive glance but just shrugged it off. It couldn't be any worse than one of Sabrina's massages.

He began exactly the way his counsellors instructed him, relaxing her muscles.

"You're really good at this – well, better than Sabrina anyway."

Some jaws dropped to the floor. Did Chloe – the meanest being on the earth – just give a compliment? There was no way that could be possible! Chloe does _not_ give out compliments. Ever. In the history of the universe.

Nathaneal gaped as the door swung open. Lila looked _gorgeous_.

For a brief moment, Dean contemplated changing his target from Marinette to Lila. But, he quickly remembered that she hated him, and went back to focusing on giving Chloe a massage.

How could the one girl who was resistant to his plans be the one he – heaven forbid, the one he wanted.

Wow. Lila looked good. Good – not great. Great would be if _Chloe_ was wearing the dress, with sapphires instead of emeralds to bring out her eyes.

This. Was. NOT. Going. To. Plan.

He was supposed to be breaking the hearts – not having his get all fluttery because of some mean blonde girl. A mean blonde girl that understood him on a level others couldn't.

Gah!

"Ugh. That dress would look _so_ much better on me!" Chloe whined.

"Agreed." Dean murmured.

"So. The new kid, planning to break Mari-Trash's heart has _finally_ come around to see that I am obviously the more valuable one!"

He actually still had a seed of doubt in his head that she knew up until that point. The way she rolled her eyes at him whenever he tried to charm his target gave him an idea that she knew – but she had never voiced her knowledge.

"You knew?" He asked dumbly.

"Well it was so obvious. I could smell _your_ intentions from a mile away!" Chloe exclaimed haughtily, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"You could see through _my_ plans?" Dean whispered, wondering to himself what gave it away.

"It takes one to know one." She shrugged, not bothered that she too had just outed herself as a heartbreaker.

It was like looking in a mirror. Dean could definitely see himself in Chloe. (In a metaphorical way you sickos.)

She knew how he worked, she saw through him as easily as she could see through a glass pane.

Somehow, her knowledgeability when it came to his cruel scheme just made her even better in his eyes.

"Nice! What's the dress made out of, Mari?" Adrien asked, yelling across the classroom.

"It's a-a new silk and f-flax hybrid m-material." She answered, ushering Lila forwards.

Lila looked away from Nathaneal, trying to pretend she hadn't noticed him, but at the same time, she found she couldn't wait to hear his reaction.

"Wow, Lila. You look r-really nice." He stuttered, at a loss for words to describe how nice she looked. He wanted to tell her she looked beautiful, that she was more than perfect. But he wasn't her boyfriend – he wasn't confident, he didn't know that's exactly what she wanted him to say, he was nervous. More than nervous, he was terrified. Terrified she would reject him, laugh at him, leave him alone.

Then, he remembered he had to fight her.

He visibly paled at the thought. 'What have I done?'

He knew he couldn't back out of the fight. So what if he didn't care about Marinette the same way he did when this whole thing started out? She was still a great person, a great friend. She didn't deserve to have him abandon her, to let Dean win the fight.

She didn't deserve to have her heart broken. He would fight – to ensure her happiness. But, it would mean he had to fight Lila, and sacrifice his own.

He looked at the floor, avoiding her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. The ones that would look at him like he was a monster afterwards.

Marinette put a hand on Lila's shoulder and sent her a reassuring smile.

'He – loves her. My best friend. How could he not? She's amazing, and all I am is a liar.' Lila thought, a downcast look on her face.

'Sure, Marinette is amazing – but Lila, Lila is a thousand times better. She's perfect.' Nathaneal thought, slowly moving his head upwards.

Their eyes met and both quickly looked away, blushing.

Marinette giggled softly, muttering a soft 'ouch' when Lila hit her in the arm.

"Not funny, Mari!" She pouted.

Nathaneal took this as his opportunity to make a getaway. He shuffled backwards, away from them, bumping into Adrien.

"Lila, huh?" He smiled.

"I uh have no idea what you're talking about."

Adrien snickered and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

Nathaneal huffed and stalked over to his seat near the back of the class.

How could they act as if it was a laughing matter? He saw Marinette and Adrien, both trying (and failing miserably) to hide their amusement. Not funny. At all. This was serious! Couldn't they at least help him out in his time of blushing and mixed up words? No, they would rather spend their time laughing their butts off.

Was it normal to gain a crush on someone so quickly?

Then again, he didn't really care whether the answer was yes or no. All he cared about, in that moment in time, was getting Lila to not completely hate him.

But hey, nothing is impossible, right?

Right?

Dean watched amusedly as Nathaneal and Lila both started to blush profusely at the sight of each other.

"You could use that to your advantage you know." Chloe whispered nonchalantly.

Dean was so surprised he stopped massaging.

"Get back to work!" She shrieked, snapping him out of his daze.

"I'm not an idiot, Dean. I've been looking for something to tease tomato-boy about, but I guess you can take this one." She added quietly.

Dean smirked. Damn this girl was good at what she did. And she did bad.

"Why thank you, your highness." He jokingly thanked her, red eyes flickering playfully.

"Finally, someone other than Sabrina has recognised me for what I truly am! A princess!" Chloe snapped.

Dean started laughing, his massage becoming shaky and inconsistent, in comparison to the relaxing, steady massage he had going earlier.

"Stop laughing this instant – or your head may just start to roll." She threatened her voice icy.

"Sorry, princess."

"You better be." Chloe snorted, flipping her blonde ponytail around, hitting Dean in the face.

Marinette put her hand on Lila's shoulder, gathering her attention.

"You should get changed back now." She whispered.

Lila nodded, and hurried herself out the room, Marinette following her.

Alya glared at Lila's back.

No one. NO ONE, steals Marinette from her. NO ONE!

So why was that little liar winning her best friend over?

Oh yeah. Her best friend was possibly the friendliest person on the planet. She attracted all kinds of personalities from far and wide. That was just a part of who she was.

But this?

Oh hell nah.

Lila obviously wanted to become besties with her! Nuh-uh. Marinette was her best friend – therefore Lila shouldn't get her.

SIMPLE MATHMATICS!

This was **so** not her week.

Nino noticed her frowning at Lila's retreating form, and put a hand on Alya's shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked, tilting his head to the left.

"Absolutely fine." Alya replied through gritted teeth.

Nino rolled his eyes and took a seat on the bench next to her.

"You know, them being friends isn't a bad thing."

"Whatever do you mean?" The ladyblogger asked, feigning innocence.

"Dude, I can smell your jealousy from like a mile away." He deadpanned.

"ME? Jealous? Ha. Never!" She exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Alya, look at me. No, don't keep glaring at that damned door. Whatever did it do to you?" He hissed in frustration.

She ripped her gaze away from the door, looking firmly at Nino.

"I. Am. Not. Jealous." She reiterated her point, eye twitching slightly in withheld annoyance.

"Yeah, and Adriens' wearing a wig made from yack hair." Nino replied sarcastically.

"Really? I didn't know that."

Nino's palm found his forehead rather quickly, and he groaned.

"It's okay to admit when you're jealous, Alya. It wouldn't hurt anybody."

"I ain't jealous." She whispered, leaning closer.

"Lies." He hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"Ain't no lies." (Bonus points if anyone can tell me where that's from.)

Nino huffed, looking away and folding his arms over his chest.

"You're jealous." He muttered.

"You're wrong."

But, we all know he really wasn't.

Lila smiled at herself in the mirror, adjusting her side-tails so they looked absolutely perfect.

"You and Nathaneal are so cute together!" Marinette chirped, clasping her hands together.

Marinette was right. They really would be cute together.

'If only he wasn't in love with the wrong person.' Lila thought, looking at her shoes.

Marinette gazed concernedly at her desk mate.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly, stepping towards Lila.

Lila put on a fake smile. "Of course I am."

Marinette was kind of worried. Her group seemed to be anxious about something. She did not like having secrets kept from her. At all.

What was it they were trying so hard to hide?

-IMPORTANT NOTICES-

Okay waffles. For the next two/three weeks, writing is goanna be very hard for me.

Reason One; I burnt my hand very badly. I did that in science, when we were eating something. I'm such an idiot. I may have a scar there for a few months, and it's kinda painful.

Reason Two; My aunt just died. She had cancer, and she lost her battle with it last night. I miss her very much! :(

-NOTE TO BETA-

Hehe! I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with depression. Stay strong :) I'm gonna be updating on wattpad more often, since it's easier to type on my iPad. (I write my stories for FFN on my laptop.)

Love ya!

-LT xx


	10. New realationship unlocked!

Centre of Affection

A/N; So I'm back! Did ya miss me? Did ya? BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE SLOW UPDATES!

"Are you okay, Lila?" Marinette whispered, tilting her head to the side.

"Perfectly fine." Lila lied.

In all honesty, she was apprehensive. She had never seen Dean fight – but judging by his form, he probably could. What if he was able to beat them all? What if she had to stand by and watch Mari have her heartbroken? Or worse – she was the one that broke her heart by ignoring her?

Too many things could go wrong – and she hated thinking about it.

There had to be something to take her mind off it.

"So Mari, what about the costumes for the others?" Lila asked, distracting herself from her depressing thoughts.

"OH – Adrien, Nath and Dean are bringing their own costumes. I just need to finish making mine tonight." Marinette giggled, smiling at her desk mate.

God, was she glad she had decided to give Lila a second chance.

"Can I see your costume?" Lila asked.

Marinette waggled her finger in Lila's face. "Nuh-Uh, no one is seeing it until the performance."

The brunette pouted. "Why not?"

"Would it be a surprise if I showed you?"

"Well no…" Lila trailed off.

"Exactly! Well, if you could gather the boys, we could run through the script."

Lila nodded, taking off in the direction of the spare classroom the boys were in, even though they had finished their work.

She wandered through the empty corridors, thinking about the small half-asian girl she had come to recognise as her best friend.

If she lost her now – the only person that gave her a second chance, Lila had no clue what she would do.

Something drastic and bad for her health, probably.

She stopped before the door, taking in a deep breath.

Lila pushed the door open, striding in.

"Look at that, the clingy rat is back." Dean chuckled, leaning on a window ledge.

"Don't call her that." Nathaneal growled.

Dean stopped dead in his tracks. Things just got interesting – very interesting. It seems he wasn't the only one who was after someone other than Marinette.

"Tomato, she's a parasite. Surely even you can see that?" Dean mocked, mischief in his ruby red eyes.

Lila balled her fists. She was about to start defending herself when Nathaneal beat her to it.

"That's rich coming from you – someone who finds joy in breaking hearts. Lila is nothing like that, she's sweet, smart, funny and beautiful. Keep your nose out of it."

Dean smirked. Lila and tomato head would be too wrapped up with each other in the fight to even notice him beating the hell out of blondie.

Adrien glared. This – while it was great they liked each other – could be very problematic. It meant Lila probably wouldn't fight Nathaneal because she wouldn't want him to get hurt. That would mean he had to fight Nathaneal, leaving Lila to fight Dean.

While he didn't doubt she could beat him up – Adrien wanted to be the one punching Dean in his perfect teeth.

Then again, it was also good news because Nathaneal wouldn't be trying to win Marinette's affection – he would be winning Lila's.

But – if he could get Nathaneal to fight with himself and Lila, things might work in their favour.

That way, Adrien could still beat the crap out of Dean, and Lila and Natheanal wouldn't have to go against each other!

"Snap out of it blondie." Lila hissed sharply in Adrien's ear.

Adrien shook his head. "Yes?"

"Mari wants to run through the play, and she sent me to round you all up."

Adrien nodded, running a hand through his hair. He wandered over to the door, and reached for the handle.

Dean heard Lila's demand, strolling over to the door. As Adrien clasped the door handle, he put an iron grip on his shoulder.

"She will be mine. They, won't be able to do a thing about it. Too scared they'll hurt each other." He whispered raspily into Adrien's ear.

Adrien shuddered. He knew it was true – it was all too true. It was clear Lila and Nathaneal wouldn't want to fight each other. It was very clear.

They _had_ to have Nathaneal on their side. Otherwise Lila, no matter how strong she was, would crumble. There was no one who could just resist the pull of love like that, even his cold hearted father had loved once.

He narrowed his eyes, and hit Dean's hand off his shoulder.

"Just you wait and see." He hissed.

If the worst came to worst, Chat Noir would be the one to finish the job. He took one last look at Dean, and walked on.

Dean watched Adrien's figure disappear through the hallways. He clicked his wrist, glaring at the blonde's back.

"Watch out, Agreste. I don't take kindly to those who try to ruin my plans." He murmured, a dark look settling on his face.

Lila watched the whole scene unfold, walking over to Nathaneal.

"Dean doesn't know what he's about to get." She hissed, balling her fists.

The red-head put a calming hand on her shoulder. Both went pink from the contact, but neither wished for it to end.

"M-Mari wants us to p-practice." Lila mentally berated herself. Stuttering? That was _so_ not flattering.

Nathaneal nodded his head, words leaving him. Lila slowly moved his hand off her shoulder.

Maybe she didn't feel the same way.

Nathaneal felt his head drop to look at the floor, a strange emptiness welling up inside him.

Lila looked at the hand that was now dangling by his side.

By doing this she might die of embarrassment – but it would be worth the warm tingly feeling she got inside whenever they touched. She cleared her head, and took his hand in hers.

Nathaneal's head snapped upwards at the sudden contact, his face becoming the same shade as his hair. He looked down at the nervous girl by his side and smiled.

Maybe she did feel the same way. Anything was possible – he lived in a city where people spontaneously turned into monsters after all.

Dean glared at them from over his shoulder. Romance – what a trivial thing. Tears – heartbroken tears were more appealing to him. The sight of a girl breaking down was what drove him. Especially if he was the reason they were reduced to a mess.

He turned back towards the corridor, and marched towards the class they were usually in, the class Chloe was in.

Lila and Nathaneal followed after him, sneaking glances at each other whenever they thought the other wasn't looking.

And that was what made them happy.

They made each other happy, and that was true love.

Marinette tapped her foot against the ground. Where were they? She did sense an unsteadiness in the group earlier – maybe she shouldn't have just brushed it off as just last-minute jitters. Today was the day before the performance, and they've had very little practice.

But it seemed like more than that, then again, maybe it was just her being silly. What if it wasn't though? What if there was something seriously wrong among them?

The door to Madame Bustier's class creaked open, drawing Marinette's attention to it.

Adrien walked through the door, a smile plastered on his face.

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up immediately, and she desperately tried to remember how to speak again.

Adrien spotted Marinette, waved, and made his way up to her, his smile becoming wider.

"Hey!" He greeted.

He said one word – just one – and Marinette's brain became jelly.

"H-Hi."

"How's the designing going?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"G-good. I'm putting the finishing touches on it, like what kind of stitches I want to use in certain places, and deciding the shade of gold ribbon I want to use on the front of the dress." She became more confident with each word, talking animatedly about her design.

"Sounds good. Could I see it?"

Marinette giggled, if she showed it to Adrien, Lila would get offended that she didn't show it to her first. But, if she acted like it was a surprise, no one would get offended.

"It's a surprise s-silly."

Adrien nodded.

"But, you can help me choose the shade of gold for the front!" She exclaimed.

"T-That is, if you want to." She added shyly.

"I would love to." He leant even closer to her.

Marinette's brain was sloshing around in her skull. No longer was it jelly, it was a liquid, a liquid of pure fangirling. Adrien wanted to help choose the shade of gold going on her dress!

She attempted to regain her composure, and held up to sample cards of gold.

"W-Which one?"

Adrien tilted his head to the side. They literally looked the same. He tilted his head to the other side, looking for some difference to make itself known.

"Uh, the one on the left?" He suggested, still looking for a difference. HE knew better than to ask what the difference was, Marinette could obviously tell the difference, no matter how subtle it was.

(Or how non-existent it was in Adrien's case. He was a model – not the designer.)

"Yeah, it's so much brighter than the other one."

Adrien squinted, still trying to find the difference.

"Yep it sure is." He pretended he could see the difference, nodding convincingly.

Alya watched the two interact, nudging Nino.

"What?"

"Look! Mari and Adrien!" She exclaimed, taking a picture with her phone.

"You're obsessed." He yawned.

"No I'm not! Adrienette forever!" She grinned.

"I thought it was Madrien?"

"Same thing, you idiot. Now shut up and watch."

"Whatever you say."

Dean walked through the door, looking around the room for Chloe.

The blonde girl grinned like the Cheshire cat. Bad boy did care afterall.

What a plot twist.

Dean waved to her, strolling over to her.

Sabrina looked suspiciously at Dean from next to Chloe. What did he want? To take her place as Chloe's forever BFF?

No way was she letting that happen. Chloe was her everything, her best friend, her mentor, and her idol.

In no way was that creepy.

Chloe stretched. "Took you long enough to get here."

"Why? Missed me?" He teased.

Chloe snorted. "Don't kid yourself."

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"I missed having a proper massage, Sabrina is about as useful as a slinky in a bungalow."

Sabrina nodded. She had to learn to be able to suit Chloe's needs better. That was what a good best friend would do.

"Ah. So Queen Bee wants a massage then?" He smirked.

"Queen Bee _demands_ a massage." Chloe retorted.

"Oh really?" He drawled sarcastically.

"I do decree."

Lila and Nathaneal stopped in front of the door, and turned to face each other.

Uncertainty flickered in Lila's eyes. This was the part where they either walked in, uncaring about what the others thought, or they walked in separately, choosing to put their reputations above all else.

Then again, the reputation of possible being Nathaneal's girlfriend was better than the reputation of being a liar.

Both were neverous, but being happy is more important than nerves.

Nathaneal pushed the door open with his free hand, face spontaneously going red again as the class looked at them.

Marinette grinned from the back of the classroom.

"Adrien, look at that!" She whispered.

"What about Lila and Nathaneal?"

"Their hands!"

Adrien found himself grinning too.

Of course Chloe would have been the one to ruin the happy mood.

"What did I tell you? Idiots love idiots. Proven." She sneered.

Sabrina bit her lip, Chloe seemed to really be digging her grave this time.

Not that that would stop her from being her loyal bestie.

Marinette felt anger boil up inside her.

Adrien could feel the anger radiate off her, and slid to the side, preparing for the bluenette to blow up.

"Chloe!"

"What Mari-Trash? Only peasants can't accept the truth. Lila's a liar, Red-head is a shy incapable thing that no-one cares about."

Just as Marinette was about to retort, Alya stood up.

So what? She may not like Lila, but the girl at least deserved a chance to be happy.

"Leave them alone Chloe – who are you to judge? You lie, you steal, you bully." Alya barked.

"Yeah! Leave them alone!" Nino shouted, putting a hand on Alya's shoulder.

"They're more wanted than you!" Ivan shouted from the corner of the room.

Shouts stopped Chloe dead in her tracks. The class – they supported Lila and Nathaneal.

It gave Lila a warm tingly feeling, they were willing to look past all the lies she told to help her.

A/N; That concludes the end of the chappie. Yeah yeah I know, no fight yet. The suspense is real. Even I have no clue what'll happen. I love all you guys so so much! Thank you all for reviewing, following and supporting me! It means so much. If any of you have watched NCIS and/or Inuyasha, I'm going to be starting a crossover on that soon!

-LT xx


	11. Battle of the Beasts Pt1

Centre of Affection

A/N; Sorry for long wait, folks. I got a Mac for Christmas and everything just kinda got off schedule! I'll try to update as quickly as possible, in preparation for the next season! (; I seriously do NOT intend to abandon ANY of my stories – it's super hard to update when your mac decides it would rather install 157 updates than install word, lol (;

Lila grinned from ear-to-ear as she watched her classmates stand up for her.  
The blonde girl snorted haughtily, "My father will hear about this, you peasants," She paused for effect and jabbed a finger in Lila's direction, "Especially you, Liar!"

Lila shook her head, even Chloe's threats couldn't put a damper on her mood.

"Nothing you can do will effect me. I've been accepted – that's all I've ever wanted. You can't take that away from me."

"Tch, I'll make you an outcast again easily. Just you wait, I'll take all you have away from you!" Chloe hissed, rage boiling up inside her.

Being raised getting her own way, Chloe could not comprehend that anyone's happiness other than her own mattered. She was raised to be selfish, never being told 'no', always having the finer things in life available to her without fail. Those things made her spoiled and bratty, she thought she had earned everything she got by blessing the earth with her presence.

And to learn she held no power over someone, especially someone like Lila, made her beyond mad. It was denying her of something she thought she deserved – influence.

Marinette watched the exchange with anger. How could you just treat a person like that? How could you just decide that they don't deserve happiness?

Adrien subconsciously moved away from her, as she began to get red in the face. It was obvious to him that Mari would not let anyone get in the way of Lila's happiness.  
She stood up, short compared to the height of her classmates, but proud none the less.

"Listen here, Chloe. Just because you're the daughter of the mayor doesn't mean you can go around treating everyone like trash!"

Chloe spun around on her heel, "Stay out of it while you still can, I can make your life miserable!"

"Chloe!" Adrien exclaimed.  
"Oh Adrikins, you didn't think I was talking about you, did you? I would never! Here, come and move away from Mari-trash and closer to me. That peasant stench must be clouding your mind." Her voice was sickly sweet, as she moved over to grab Adrien by the arm.

Adrien shrugged her off, "I'm fine here, Chloe."

That comment did nothing to deter Chloe, as she pulled even more on his arm.

"This way, Adrikins."

-  
Dean sniggered, "And I thought she was as smart as me." How could someone as cruel and calculating as Chloe not see that the boy had no feelings for her? One moment, she was the smartest girl in the world to him – able to see through his plans like glass. The next moment – she was as daft as a brush, blind to the fact that Adrien was not interested. Perhaps it would be fun to break her heart with the truth. But, she probably wouldn't accept it.

"Let go, Chloe." Adrien sighed.

"It's worse than I thought! That horrible Mari-Trash has got to your head. She's below you, Adrikins. People like us belong on the red carpet – people like her belong behind bars, where she can't infect us with her peasant-y ways!"

Nino took his hand off Alya's shoulders, fully prepared to have her blow up. But, before she had the chance to scream anything at Chloe, she was beaten to it.

"STOP IT CHLOE!" Three different voices shouted at the same time. The first, none other than Marinette's loyal friend, Lila. The second, Lila's favourite red-head, Nathaneal. And the third was the last person Chloe ever thought would tell her to stop. Her very own childhood friend, Adrien Agreste.

Chloe put on a hard exterior, huffing and threatening Marinette, Lila and Nathaneal. Inside, she was panicking. What did she do that would make her only friend lash out at her? Where had she gone wrong? Wasn't he going to apologise for upsetting her?

Marinette smiled as tears prickled in her eyes. The words were harsh. They were always harsh. They were harsh to get their point across – and they worked. Every single word, 'trash', 'garbage', 'peasant', ect. Always made their point. They ate away at her confidence little-by-little, until something made it better. Until she got to put on the suit again and see her crime-fighting partner, until Alya or Tikki told her she was perfect as is, or until a certain someone smiled at her. This time she got more than a smile – he stood up for her.

"Whatever, losers." Chloe turned to go to the door, and looking over her shoulder she saw Dean sniggering.

"Dean, with me." She commanded, blonde hair swaying behind her.

"Anything for you, Queen Bee." He said sarcastically, trailing after her.

Alya was the first to break the silence after Chloe's exit. "Something's definitely up with those two. I mean, who would bow down to Chloe like that?"

"Chloe is a Queen and deserves to be treated like one." Sabrina fiddled with her jumper.

Alya was about to retort, when she was interrupted for the second time that day.  
"She's lonely." Marinette said simply.

"No she's not! She has me!"

"Mari's right." Juleka threw her two cents into the conversation.

"Being all by herself in that big hotel of hers has got to make her feel isolated!" Rose shuffled closer to Juleka.

"It's gotta be hard getting what you want all the time – and then suddenly being told 'no'." Nino tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Alya whirled around to face him, "You're kidding me, right? She doesn't deserve to have all the wealth she does!"

Chloe stood outside the door, next to Dean, glaring as she heard them bicker about her life.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped, irritated.

"Tch, turn around." He smirked.

"Why?" The blonde huffed.

"You look like you need a massage, Queenie."

"What's that supposed to mean, Dean?" She glowered.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, Queen Bee."

"We should just leave it. Only Chloe really knows why she is the way she is." Marinette raised a hand to stop the heated discussion about Chloe's life.

"Marinette's right, none of us could know for sure." Adrien shrugged, smiling at the bluenette herself.

Everyone just left the subject, returning to their friendship groups to ask questions about each-other's performances.

"So, Mari, letting me see your costume this time?" Alya laughed.

"No way, Alya. It's a surprise!"

"You should see the dress she made for me – it's brilliant!" Lila chimed in.

"Yep, Mari's designs are always spectacular." Alya praised her.

"Awh, stop it you guys. It needs quite a few adjustments though."

"I bet it'll look great!" Alya exclaimed, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, we do have the performance tomorrow.." Lila trailed off. 'And the fight tonight,' she added mentally.

"I've also finished Dean's costume- I think it looks pretty good. Could use a bit of tweaking though.." The blue-eyed girl trailed off.

"What about Adrien and Nathaneal's costumes?" Alya asked.

"Oh, they've already got theirs!" Marinette exclaimed, "Not sure why Nathaneal had a fairy costume lying around.." she added quietly.

"You're making Nathaneal be the fairy?" Alya giggled.

"Yeah, it'll be funny to watch him prance around on stage." Lila joined Alya in her laughter.

"So, Lila – when did you and Nathaneal become a thing?" Marinette winked.

"A-A thing?" Lila's face immediately burned red.

"Mhm, you've got to give us all the details." Alya sent a cat-like grin towards the other brunette, forgetting the previous resentment she felt for her in favour of gossip.

"I could say the same thing to youuu." Lila chirped.

"Yeah, Alya. You and Nino?" Marinette turned to the ladyblogger.

"What? NO!" Alya cried in indignation as the tables were turned against her.

"Yeah- dude seems to like you." Lila whistled.

"Hmph." Alya folded her arms over her chest.

-RINGGG—

"Welp, there goes the bell. Better go!" Alya waved quickly, before diving for the door in an effort to escape the merciless teasing.

"Wanna walk back with me, Mari?" Lila smiled.

"Sure!"

The pair walked side-by-side, admiring the Parisian scenery and enjoying being in the company of each other.

"Thanks for walking with me, Mari!" The olive-eyed girl waved goodbye to her best friend.

"Come inside, we have food if you want some." Marinette offered, standing outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Maybe tomorrow, Mari. I've got a lot of lines to learn." Lila lied awkwardly.

"Sure, see you tomorrow!"

Lila continued her walk in silence, the world suddenly looking less brighter than it did just moments before, with Marinette.

'If I loose this fight – I loose Mari, and maybe Nathaneal.' She thought sadly. One slip up could cost Lila her favourite red-head and best friend.

'Everything I care about rides on tonight.' Her face hardened, and she tightened her grip on her bag.

Midnight drew closer and closer, it was about half-eleven at this time.

Adrien was drawing energy from his Kwami, preparing himself for the fight. Donning a black- leather shirt and some black sweatpants made him feel like he was about to go on a James-Bond style mission. He was ready – for whatever reason, he felt the burning desire to maim Dean, and he was ready to do just that.

Lila had already changed into a tight orange shirt and black shorts. She bandaged her wrists, and pulled her hair up in a bun, leaving her bangs loose. She gave herself the once-over and narrowed her eyes. Dean was in for one hell of a fight.

Nathaneal, was no where near as mentally ready as the others. Dressed in a simple sleeve-less purple tee and black shorts, he ran a hand through his red hair. What if Lila got hurt? God, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Marinette couldn't sleep. Some nagging feeling was keeping her awake. Slowly, she rolled out of bed, and shook Tikki's small form awake.

"Psst! Tikki!" She whispered.

"Marinette?" The kwami answered groggily.

"We haven't gone on a patrol in a while, it's getting on my nerves."

"But Marinette – it's late!"

"It won't last long, I promise Tikki!"

"Fine Marinette." Tikki sighed.

"Spots on!"

The clock struck midnight, and three people (or so it appeared to them) strolled into the park.

"Lila." Nathaneal nodded.

"Nathaneal." She nodded back.

"Tch, I'm here too, love brids." Adrien smirked.

"Hmph. Where's Dean?" She looked around.

An evil cackle echoed through the park.

"Don't worry – you're not alone." The voice told them ominously.

Ladybug swung through the city, hopping over the Parisian roof-tops.

"Just as you thought, Tikki. No akumas." She sighed.

Just as she turned to go back to the bakery, a flicker of movement in the park attracted her attention.

"Maybe I'm not done just yet.."

Dean looked around him and smirked. No one was getting out of here alive- they truly had no idea just how dark he was.

'Pain, get me the miraculous.' A dull voice echoed in his head.

It had started two weeks ago, after his mother died, and he moved to Paris. It hurt, and he found someone that would help him continue to cause others pain.

They had wanted him to remain in the shadows – not to reveal himself to the heroes of Paris just yet, to 'wait until they think they're safe.' The voice had said.

The voice kept demanding something – a 'miraculous'. Over the course of the fortnight, Dean had learnt to ignore it, and instead to focus on the power that rushed through his veins.

That power would help him crush his opponents so he could finally crush the sweet Marinette's heart. She was so pure, so fragile. She was like an angel – and he wanted to destroy her wings. He wanted to take the very thing from her that put her above everyone else, her kindness, her halo.

"Hello?" Ladybug called out, swinging her yoyo.

Three figures froze – looking towards each other in panic.

Where was Dean and why was Ladybug here?

"I am here." The voice from before boomed.

"An akuma!" Ladybug hissed, assuming a battle-ready stance.

"So much more than an akuma, my dearest ladybug."

And the voice finally showed itself, and Ladybug gasped.

"Dean!" Lila exclaimed from across the park – drawing attention to herself, and the others.

"Lila?" Marinette squinted.

"Yes, Lila. And I did not come alone…"

A/N; I'm so sorry for taking ages to update! I'm going to try to update 'What Instinct Demands' next! Thank you to all that are reading this! Lots of love to all of my devoted readers, thanks for staying with me!

If you have any suggestions, PLEASE put them in a review, or PM me! I would love to write some of your ideas!


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